Coconut industry facilities get PhilMech boost

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The construction of the P27-million coconut processing facility in Oriental Mindoro has commenced, touted as the first of its kind in the province, and is seen to increase the income of coconut farmers.

The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) said the Bongabong Coconut Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative (Bocofamco) will receive the facility designed to process white copra and cooking oil.

Situated in Bongabong town, the coconut processing facility is expected to benefit almost 1,500 coconut farmer-members of Bocofamco and other farmers within the area.

Meanwhile, a shared processing facility for white copra and cooking oil in Baganga town in Davao Oriental, with a project cost of P31 million, is now underway.

This is the first white copra and cooking oil processing facility in the province and the second in the Davao Region, which would directly benefit almost 580 coconut farmers.

It will be operated and managed by the Agroforestry Farmers Producers Cooperative.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is also a recipient of the P41 million worth of shared processing facilities, allowing the region to produce more quality coconut products.

PHilMech said earlier that a stakeholders consultation meeting and workshop would be held later this month to identify qualified project proponents and the type of facilities to be built.

In the forthcoming gathering, stakeholders will look into the situation of the Bangsamoro coconut sector, coconut value chain analysis and market demand for coconut products.

Meanwhile, P86.5 million worth of coconut processing facilities are being constructed in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

These projects form part of a plan to develop shared processing facilities nationwide under the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan, which spells out initiatives to increase the income and productivity of 2.5 million coconut farmers nationwide.

This blueprint guides government in utilizing the P75-billion coco levy fund. INQ