Mapping technology seen helping PCA improve tree count

THE Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is seeking to adopt mapping technology to improve its estimates of coconut production per region.
“We’re trying to develop a proposal to be able to provide all the coconut farmers and producers, a map of the tree count in a given area to facilitate regional comparisons,” Department of Agriculture (DA) Minimum Access Volume (MAV) Secretariat Executive Director Clint D. Hassan said in an interview.
Mr. Hassan was initially designated as DA’s Director for Information and Communications Technology Service by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, but was transferred to the MAV department in early October.
Mr. Hassan said that the problem with not having an actual count of coconut trees is unreliable data.
“Lots of people are complaining about the low copra price, but the farmer is not assess the market for whole nuts and fruit,” Mr. Hassan said.
According to Mr. Hassan, when PCA was separated from the DA by order of President Benigno C. Aquino III, the agency lost its technological support.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol has said that he wants to revive the coconut and rubber industries via livelihood and loan programs to farmers affected by low market prices.
“The livelihood programs could include processing husks into materials for Greenhouse Farming which needs a lot of coco coir and coconut shells processed into charcoal briquettes or other industrial uses,” Mr. Piñol said in a social media post.
“What is needed to intensify coco coir production for export is the establishment of processing facilities and disinfection equipment like an irradiation machine which only the government can afford,” according to Mr. Piñol.
Mr. Piñol has also instructed the PCA to draft a five-year road map to rehabilitate and revive the industry which has been hit by low copra prices, delays in the implementation of the replanting program and the failure to explore other income opportunities in the coconut industry. The PCA was also instructed to allocate P10 million for the drafting of the Coconut Industry Road Map, for the benefit of an estimated of 25 million people directly and indirectly depending on the industry for livelihood. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio