Govt allots ₧500M for coconut SPF program

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

CALABARZON and Northern Mindanao are set to receive a large chunk of the P500million fund allotted by the national government for the construction of shared processing facilities (SPFs) for the coconut industry.

T he Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) said it has identified the allocation per region under the P500-million SPF program that will be bankrolled by the Coconut Industry Trust Fund (CITF).

T he SPF seeks to elevate the productivity of coconut farmers, particularly those belonging in cooperatives, by allowing them to churn out value-added products, such as coconut oil.

Under Republic Act 11524 or the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act, the PhilMech will spearhead the implementation of the SPF program, akin to the mechanization component of the rice competitiveness enhancement fund.

The agency is eyeing the production by coconut farmer cooperatives of the following value-added products: crude coconut oil; processed coconut oil; virgin coconut oil; des- iccated coconut; coconut coir; and coconut sap,” PhilMech Executive Director Dionisio Alvindia said in a statement on Sunday.

A lvindia noted that PhilMech has already set the guidelines for coconut farmer cooperatives to qualify under the SPF program. He said the SPF program will be free for the identified beneficiaries, with their sole counterpart cost being the land where the facilities will be established.

To qualify, target beneficiaries or project proponents should be duly registered coconut farmers’ cooperatives with the Cooperative Development Authority with more than 100 members, and has a total of 5,000 coconuts daily production,” Director Alvindia said.

T he P500-million initial SPF program fund will be allocated per region as follows: P58.61 million for Calabarzon, P53.84 million for Northern Mindanao, P52.66 million Zamboanga Peninsula, P51.74 million for Davao Region and P50.15 million for Eastern Visayas.

Meanwhile, Bicol Region will receive P43.65 million, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (P40.84 million), Soccsksargen (P32.51 million), Caraga (P29.74 million), Western Visayas (P27.13 million), Mima - ropa (P25.49 million) and P25.01 million for Central Visayas.

I locos region, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon will receive a combined allocation of P8.63 million.

At present, most coconut farmers’ cooperatives are still not capable of producing value-added products, and are mostly engaged in producing copra that are sold