A top official of the Philippine Coconut Authority estimated a total of eight billion pesos lost to the devastation wrought by Typhoon Pablo to the coconut industry in the Davao region. Undersecretary Euclides Forbes, administrator of the PCA said the destruction of coconut plantations in Davao Oriental will affect the overall annual production of coconut products nationwide since the province had always been the number one producer of copra prior to the storm. He said that per record, there are 314 million coconut trees all over the country. Forbes said it is possible that other provinces in the country may be able to make up for the loss of Davao Oriental’s copra production next year. The region has about 376,000 hectares of farms planted to coconut, with half of the total area located in Davao Oriental according to a report by the PCA. From these farms, the region produces about three million nuts annually. “We need massive rehabilitation, like replanting immediately, given that many oil mills rely on the coconut industry in this part of the country,” he said. Forbes said the total valuation of the destruction of the coconut industry in Davao Oriental may go beyond sixty percent. He bared that the PCA will realign two million coconut trees intended for Luzon to be planted in Davao Oriental. Forbes said that for 2013, a total 17 million coconut trees are to be planted nationwide, adding that part of the intervention is to add more to the Php1-Million fertilization fund for coconut trees in typhoon-stricken areas. “We will implement it in the ten thousand hectares of coconut plantations in the Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental areas,” Forbes said. The PCA will encourage coconut farmers to do intercropping and livestock-raising in line with the “Kaanib Program” while waiting for the coconut trees to mature It takes seven years after planting to harvest coconut trees. Forbes said the emerging coconut trees will be of the dwarf variety since climate change has proven that Mindanao is no longer typhoon-free. [PIA 11/Joey Sem G. Dalumpines]
