By Sarwell Meniano/Philippine News Agency
TACLOBAN CITY — Officials and employees of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) held the first fun run here in the bid to campaign for patronization of coconut juice amid low copra price.
Department of Agriculture Eastern Regional Executive Director Milo Delos Reyes said the early morning fun run on Thursday promoting buko (young coconut) juice is the first event of its kind in the region.
“Amidst the brewing hot issue on the continued downtrend of copra prices, the DA, spearheaded by no less than Secretary Manny F. Piñol, has embarked on a massive nationwide campaign to promote buko juice of fresh coconut as a natural energy drink,” said delos Reyes in a statement posted on social media.
The DA regional chief said the farm department signed a deal with the Departments of Education and of Foreign Affairs to officially designate buko juice as an energy drink for Filipino athletes in this year’s Palarong Pambansa and South East Asian games.
The Buko Run is the highlight of the kick-off activity for the month-long observance of the Farmers’ and Fisherfolk’s Month Celebration.
Presidential Proclamation No. 33 signed in 1989, designated every month of May as National Farmers’ and Fisherfolk’s Month, to acknowledge and give due recognition to the significant contribution of our farmers and fisherfolk to the country’s economic development.
The PCA in Eastern Visayas has asked government agencies and local governments to promote the consumption of buko juice to raise the income of farmers affected by the steadily declining copra price.
Delos Reyes said that if half of the region’s more than four million population will drink buko juice daily, the region’s coconut farmers will earn an additional PHP20 million every day.
Young coconut is bought at PHP10 per piece in farms and marketed by vendors at PHP20 to PHP25 per piece.
“Our call to government officials is to serve coconut water in all our activities instead of soda drinks to support our local coconut industry. Let us be ambassadors of the coconut sector,” delos Reyes said.
PCA pushed for the promotion of young coconut as copra farm gate price plunged to PHP11.37 per kilogram as of April 30 from PHP21.84 in the same period last year.
The government, according to PCA, has no control over the fluctuating copra price since it is dictated by the global oil market dominated by palm oil and soybean oil with a share of 35 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
The copra price drop has been affecting 367,234 coconut farmers in the Eastern Visayas region. It is estimated that 1.83 million people or nearly half of the region’s 4.4 million population are dependent on coconut.
Copra is the dried meat or kernel of the coconut where premium oil is extracted. It also yields coconut cake after oil extraction, which is mainly used as feeds for livestock.
Coconut water known as buko juice is the liquid endosperm obtained from a young coconut which is pure and nutritious natural beverage. The sterile water, which is approximately 200 – 750 ml, is enclosed with a hard shell and a well-lined layer of coconut meat.
The natural drink is high in ionic nutrients (electrolytes) such as potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, phosphorus and sulfur. It also contains sugar, in the form of glucose and fructose, Vitamin C, Vitamin B group and amino acids such as glutamic acid, arginine, aspartic acid, and leucine.
Among the benefits of buko juice are lower risk of heart attacks, increase metabolic rate, help in dissolving kidney stones, prevents muscle cramps, and an effective diuretic.
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