The neglected coconut farmers

The coconut farmers constitute the most neglected farmers in our country today. Congress will soon decide if the coconut levy they will get will be a source of joy or another disappointment.

Under the 2021 budget, the coconut sector is getting P1 billion while rice is getting P27 billion. This is happening even though the coconut farmers are more and poorer than the rice farmers.

Out of our 3 million coconut hectares, 2 million are practically idle because there is no intercropping between the trees. We can grow products like cacao in the vacant spaces, and significantly cut down 70 percent of our importation of these products today. This will also triple a farmer’s income. But not much is being done.

What has been more troubling is that coconut farmers contributed to the coconut levy from 1973 to 1982, but have not gotten anything in return. This levy is now P106 billion: P76 billion in cash and P30 billion in assets. It remains undistributed.

To shed light on this issue, two knowledgeable farmer leaders were asked to speak during the weekly forum of the Management Association of the Philippines-Agribusiness and Countryside Development Foundation. Since this forum has 12,000 email recipients weekly, key leaders participated on Nov. 3.

The speakers were Socrates Bansuela, executive director of Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka and Joey Faustino, cofounder of Coconut Industry Reform Movement. Both are also leaders of Kilos Magniniyog and Alyansa Agrikultura.

Both said there was a problem. The Senate version has allocated specific amounts to identified government agencies. The farmers argued this was like putting the cart before the horse. A well-crafted and coordinated plan should be done first. Fund allocation should come later and be consistent with the plan.

The farmers’ recommendation of their participation in the utilization, management and administration (Faustino called it Uma, which is the Visayan term for farm) was ignored. They had recommended a Coco Levy Trust Management Committee that would do an Uma plan first. Instead, fund allocations were prematurely decided. There is still a Trust Management Committee, but it is focused on investments. In addition, it has no private participation and is composed of only three government representatives from the Department of Finance, the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Treasury.

The farmers say this is the major obstacle to an effective coconut levy. After waiting for 17 years, they may not get a levy that addresses their direct needs. They wanted to make a distinction. There are needs that should be addressed in the normal course of good governance, which should be funded by the national budget. There are others that give unique direct benefits to the farmers which the levy should fund. They are afraid the levy will be misused.

Examples that should be funded by the regular budget are farm-to-market roads, crop insurance, agrarian reform and conditional cash transfers. When an Alyansa Agrikultura leader asked a government official why the Philippine Coconut Authority was getting only P1 billion for 2021 while rice-related agencies got P27 billion, he was told that the coconut levy would take care of the coconut sector’s needs. The farmers vehemently disagreed. The levy should be used only for unique needs not normally funded by the budget. That is what the levy is for. Examples are social protection including health, medical and educational benefits; community-managed seednut nurseries, intercrops and fertilization, and community enterprises for integrated processing and value addition to coconuts. This would be supported by a fund for organizing, education and capability building.

Finally releasing the coconut levy is good, but it must be a responsive levy that does not follow the traditional nontransparent, nonaccountable government top-down approach with no farmer participation. Instead, there should be farmer participation using an Uma approach, with fund allocation consistent with a competent coordinated plan.

In the next few weeks, Congress will be deciding on these issues. After a 17-year wait, it is hoped that coconut farmers will finally experience jubilation, instead of yet another round of frustration.

The author is Agriwatch chair, former secretary of Presidential Programs and Projects, and former undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Contact is [email protected].