Coconut Centers to be Put Up Nationwide

The government is putting up coconut centers in 67 provinces in the country to provide assistance to growers, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.  The DA has signed an inter-agency memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the establishment of an agribusiness one-stop-shop called “Malasakit sa Magniniyog: Coco Center.”  The agreement was signed by Agriculture Secretary William Dar and UCPB-CIIF Finance and Development Corp. (COCOFINANCE) and UCPB-CIIF Foundation Inc. president and chief executive officer, Rehan Balt Lao.  

Other signatories were partner agencies such as the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), United Coconut Planters Bank, Coconut Industry Investment Fund-Oil Mills Group, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Department of Trade and Industry, Land Bank of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Cooperative Development Authority, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Agrarian Reform, and the National Anti-Poverty Commission.

Under MOU, a coco center will be established in the 67 coconut provinces of the country, starting with the Mindanao regions.  Lao said the company targets to finish at least 30 percent of coco center this year.  “The coco center will serve as a central location where assistance from partner agencies may be channeled to small coconut growers,” the DA said.  It added the centers would also serve as a touchpoint for investors to directly link up with coco groups for the supply of finished products, raw materials and labor for coconut-related enterprises.