Increasing coconut farmer income

The ongoing march of the coconut farmers to secure their just share of the coconut levy, which the Alyansa Agrikultura fully supports, highlights the need to help them in their sad plight. There are 3.3 million coconut farmers covering 3.4 million hectares today. They constitute the largest and poorest agricultural land-based subsector.

If the Supreme Court further delays the coconut levy decision, action must be done immediately to increase coconut farmer income. Income generating coconut farm models should be set up, with appropriate technology transfer packages. In addition, funding for this technology transfer to produce results must be provided.

Model

There is great potential for increasing a poor coconut farmer’s income in one hectare. Here are a few of the profitable opportunities, which should be included in a model farm:

1. Fertilization. With only a P2,000 investment in salt fertilization for a coconut hectare, there will be an additional yield worth P10,000 for the first year and P20,000 for subsequent years. Using better fertilizer nutrients will increase this yield five-fold. Yet today, two-thirds of the coconut land does not even have basic fertilization. (Source: Rolando Dy, 6342819)

2. Intercropping. Products like coffee and cacao should be planted between coconut trees. For example, after P67,000 for 500 intercropped cacao trees is invested in one hectare for the first three years, the fourth year will yield a positive net income. Subsequent years will yield an annual net income of P100,000. Despite this, two-thirds of the coconut land has no intercropping. (Source: Josephine Ramos, 0928-6395471)

3. Beekeeping. With a P15,000 investment, two honeybee colonies can be set up which will yield an annual net income of P15,000. In addition, cross-pollination by the bees increases the copra output by 30 percent, which is valued at P7,000. Additional revenue from the sale of beekeeping by-products such as pollen, propolis and beeswax adds another P2,000. Total income from this beekeeping is then P24,000. (Source: John Domogtoy, 0917-8851173)

4. Dairy Carabao. A P50,000 investment in a cross-bred dairy carabao yields a net annual income of P28,000, or a 56 percent return on investment (ROI). This is double the net income from one unirrigated rice hectare. A pure bred dairy carabao can yield an annual net income of P67,500. Adding a dairy carabao’s care to the underutilized work capacity of a coconut farmer will mean significant added income for him. (Source: Nur Baltazar, 0928-2834503)

The above are but a few of the additional income-generating opportunities that should be showcased in a one hectare coconut model farm. An intensive and effective technology transfer program should be implemented for the replication of these opportunities, which is severely lacking today. However, there is still another problem.

Funding

The above activities cannot take place unless there is accessible funding. Two banks should take proactive measures to provide this: Land Bank, which is mandated to help small farmers, and the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB), which was set up to support coconut farmers.

We recommend that both banks go beyond their normal practice of providing funding for projects with good feasibility studies. The small coconut farmers simply do not have the capacity to do these studies.

Both banks should instead target a significant number of coconut farmers to assist. They can then make arrangements to actively search for the targeted coconut farmers and help them formulate and submit the necessary feasibility studies.

In addition, we recommend that Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala exercise his strong leadership in forging a formal tie-up between the banks and DA’s Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) so that the needed transfer of technology takes place. It is a two-way street. If funding is given without the technology transfer, or if technology transfer occurs without the funding, this initiative of increasing farmer incomes will not succeed.

The current march of the coconut farmers dramatizes the need for them to get their just share of the coconut levy. But they should also motivate the Land Bank, the UCPB and the ATI to do their part in increasing farmer incomes. With the three working together, the future of the coconut farmers will be greatly enhanced.

(The author is chair of Agriwatch, former secretary for presidential flagship programs and projects, and former undersecretary for Agriculture, and Trade and Industry. For inquiries and suggestions, e-mail [email protected] or telefax 8522112)