By Gabriela Baron
President Rodrigo Duterte approved the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP) to increase the incomes of coconut farmers and modernize the country’s coconut industry.
In signing the Executive Order (EO) No. 172, Duterte directed the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to fully implement the CFIDP which aimed at the establishment of community-based enterprises, provision of social protection for coconut farmers and their families, and organization and development of coconut farmers.
The scheme also targets to conduct innovative research on coconut processing, production, and distribution.
“The PCA consulted concerned government agencies, coconut farmers, including their organizations, industry associations, civil society groups, the academe, and other stakeholders in the formulation of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan,” the EO read.
“[There] is a need to approve the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan to increase overall productivity and income of coconut farmers, alleviate poverty, and achieve the twin objectives of rehabilitating and modernizing the coconut industry to attain social equity,” it further read. – ag
