By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
On the heels of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, the Department of Agriculture (D.A) is working on the President’s marching orders to amend the Republic Act No. 11524, also known as the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. emphasized the urgency of the Chief Executive’s directive as crucial in revitalizing the coconut sector—the country’s top agricultural export earner.
Tiu-Laurel said, “We must revise the law to focus the trust fund’s resources on the most critical needs—particularly replanting. Many of our coconut trees are senile. If we don’t replace them immediately, we risk losing the industry’s future.”
Coconut trees over 50 years old produce less than half the potential yield of younger trees, which stands at around 80-100 nuts a year. While the fruit-bearing capacity of older trees may be temporarily boosted with salt fertilization, replanting is the only long-term solution to sustain the viability of the coconut sector.
The Agriculture chief, meanwhile, noted that this initiative aims to safeguard the welfare and ensure profitability of farmers and entrepreneurs, as well as maintain the country’s position as the second-largest producer and exporter of coconuts, after Indonesia.
“These reforms are about more than productivity—they’re about securing the livelihoods of millions of Filipino coconut farmers,” Tiu Laurel said.
Each year, the industry exports an average of USD2 billion worth of crude and refined coconut oil, desiccated coconut, copra meal, and coconut water from about 14 to 15 billion nuts. If the Philippines could increase farm yield, it could ride the crest of the wave of increasing demand for coconut oil, particularly in Europe.
For 2025, the government has allocated P1 billion for planting/replanting and P1.8 billion for fertilization. But to truly scale the effort, the P80-billion trust fund must be refocused toward high-impact programs that lift productivity and farmer incomes. The proposed amendment will allow greater flexibility to ensure a more responsive and adaptive approach to the evolving needs of coconut farmers and the industry.
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