MANILA, Philippines – Following a promise to modernize the coconut industry under the Marcos administration, only 8.78% of the P755 million fund for the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP) and the Coconut Hybridization Project (CHO) was used in 2022. 

The unused 91.22% of the fund will be returned to the National Treasury. 

The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), the government agency tasked to develop the country’s coconut industry, attributed the slow pace of implementation partly to their adjustments under the new leadership of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., particularly the reconstitution of the PCA board.

Activities and contracts had to wait until the reconstituted board was in place, which first met on October 5, 2022, the agency said.

Aside from underutilization of its budget, the PCA missed key targets too. 

Only 3,540 hectares of the 10,676 hectares allotted for precision farming fertilization were covered. The agency fertilized 495,472 palms out of a target of 1.527 million. The plan to train 2,517 personnel of the CHP fell way short, as only 202 people were trained. 

On the plus side, the PCA exceeded the target of 338,827 hybrid seednuts, producing 374,073 seednuts. 

The PCA celebrated its 50th anniversary last June. Marcos had instructed the PCA to intensify implementation of the CFIDP to modernize the industry. – Rappler.com