In the Province of Cotabato, palm oil is growing into more than a farm crop. It is becoming a potential engine for higher farmer incomes, local processing, investment, and broader economic growth.
For years, oil palm has been cultivated across the province, supported by government programs that helped smallholders establish plantations. Now, Cotabato is looking beyond planting and harvesting toward building a stronger value chain that connects farmers, processors, investors, government, and the academe.
At the 14th National Palm Oil Congress in Davao City on Friday, Cotabato Governor Emmylou “Lala” J. Taliño-Mendoza outlined the province’s vision of transforming palm oil from an agricultural commodity into a competitive industry.
“For us in Cotabato, palm oil is not a new opportunity. Our farmers have been growing it for many years, our provincial government has been supporting it for many years, and over time, we have seen the beginnings of a real value chain-from the farmer, to the plantation, to the mill, and increasingly, toward value-added processing,” Mendoza said.
The challenge now, she said, is to capture more value locally.
“How do we take palm oil from being an agricultural commodity and develop it into a stronger, more competitive industry that creates greater value for our farmers, our investors, and our local economy?” she said.
Cotabato’s push is backed by years of public investment, particularly through its Plant-Now-Take-Care (PNTC) Program, which helps smallholder farmers overcome the cost of quality planting materials while requiring them to maintain their plantations.
From 2012 to 2026, the provincial government invested about P272 million, benefiting 3,640 farmers and establishing 7,497.94 hectares of oil palm. In 2026 alone, P35 million was allocated for 521 farmers and about 942.5 hectares.
“Our objective was never simply to distribute seedlings; it was to create productive assets. Government provides the right starting input, the knowledge, and the technical support, but the farmer takes responsibility for the investment,” Mendoza said.
With the plantation base expanding, the province is shifting its focus toward productivity and profitability.
“The next phase of palm-oil development cannot be measured simply by the number of seedlings distributed or hectares planted. We now have to look at productivity and value,” she said.
Cotabato already has a key component of the value chain in Carmen, where Univanich Carmen Palm Oil Corporation operates a commercial processing facility with a rated capacity of 60 metric tons of fresh fruit bunches per hour, producing crude palm oil, palm-kernel oil, and palm-kernel cake for domestic and export markets.
“Our responsibility in government is to make sure that the rest of the ecosystem is able to keep pace,” Mendoza said.
That ecosystem includes roads, logistics, financing, research, technology, farmer organizations, and reliable markets. The province has approximately P996 million in priority infrastructure and water-system investments under the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project Scale-Up to improve connectivity, water access, and rural productivity.
Mendoza also cited the University of Southern Mindanao’s role in research, technology, and quality planting materials.
Ultimately, she said, palm oil development will require convergence among farmers, cooperatives, banks, processors, investors, government agencies, and the academe.
“The LGU must become an ecosystem builder,” Mendoza said.
She described this as “convergence leadership.”
Cotabato’s ambition is to become a major oil palm production and processing hub in the Philippines.
“We want Cotabato to be recognized as a major oil-palm production and processing hub in the Philippines. We are not starting from zero. We have already planted the first generation, and we have already built the foundation,” Mendoza said.
For Cotabato, the next chapter is about turning that foundation into a productive, competitive industry and ensuring that the growth rooted in its farms creates lasting value for its people and economy.
