Kiko Pangilinan raises concern about coco levy fund underutilization

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan has flagged what he described as the continued underutilization of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund, noting that many coconut farmers still earn as low as P200 per day. 

During the hearing of the Senate panel on agriculture, food, and agrarian reform, Pangilinan said that billions of pesos from the fund meant to support coconut farmers remain unused. 

“What’s the point of all these billions being spent if their incomes do not improve and they are still earning P200 a day? It;s nonsense, right?” Pangilinan said, as quoted in a press release.

READ: Coco levy case dismissal sparks outcry from farmers

He noted that LandBank, Agricultural Training Institute, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Science and Technology, and the Department of Agriculture’s High Value Crops Development Program reported utilization rates below 50%. 

He also pointed out that LandBank only has a utilization rate of 1%, which translates to only helping 38,000 out of 2.5 million registered coconut farmers. 

During the hearing, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) said that coconut farmers earn about P200 a day, as their incomes largely depend on the size of the farms. With this, Pangilinan asked the PCA to submit a paper on how current measures under the Republic Act (RA) No. 11524, which created the coconut farmers and industry trust fund, can help coconut farmers grow their income. 

Pangilinan also said that the government should identify which interventions help support the livelihoods of many coconut farmers.

“All these interventions are necessary so that you will not just increase productivity, but you will increase income. So, from a benchmark of P200 a day when these interventions are undertaken, let’s not talk about P100 million trees over a period of x years without pegging an income benchmark,” Pangilinan noted. 

He also said that the panel, of which he chairs, will review the implementation of RA No. 11524 to assess if amendments are needed to ensure that the coco levy fund will be fully utilized for coconut farmers. /mr