(Photo courtesy of PCA Region 10)

 More than three million coconut farmers nationwide have already been registered under the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) National Coconut Farmer’s Registry System (NCFRS), Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Monday.

In a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte, Nograles said there are now a total of 3,109,589 registrants listed in the NCFRS, following the registration of an additional 585,322 coconut farmers.

Nograles added that the PCA has already updated around 85 percent of the 2,524,267 registrants in the 2018 database.

“Patuloy pa rin po ‘yung verification ng mga farmers na ito (The verification of farmers continue),” he said. “Alam naman po natin na mahalaga na patuloy ‘yung serbisyo natin at pag-aalaga natin sa sektor ng mga coconut farmers dito sa ating bansa (We all know the importance of serving the and taking care of the coconut farmers in the country).”

The verification of coconut farmers will be the basis in the utilization of the coconut levy trust fund.

On Feb. 26, 2021, Duterte inked Republic Act (RA) 11524 or the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act that mandates the maintenance of the 50-year Trust Fund that will be used for the benefit of the coconut farmers and for the development of the coconut industry.

RA 11524 directs the Bureau of Treasury to ensure the immediate transfer of PHP10 billion to the Trust Fund for the first year, another PHP10 billion for the second year, PHP15 billion each for the third year and fourth year, and PHP25 billion for the fifth year.

Meantime, Nograles told Duterte that there are ongoing clinical studies to determine whether virgin coconut oil is effective in treating Covid-19.

Nograles said farmers would benefit if the results of the studies prove that virgin coconut oil can be used to treat Covid-19 patients.

He said the PCA collaborated with the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) and Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), as well as the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital for clinical studies on the therapeutic use of virgin coconut oil against Covid-19.

He said the studies conducted by PCA and DOST-FNRI have already concluded, while those being conducted by PCHRD and UP-PGH are still underway.

Results of the study by PCA and DOST-FNRI found that five of the 29 individuals with probable and suspect Covid-19 cases who were served meals with virgin coconut oil manifested diminishing signs and symptoms as early as the second day, while only one patient served with the same meals but without virgin coconut oil showed similar improvement.

Nograles likewise said planting of some 36,642,245 seedlings under the Coconut Planting and Replanting project has benefitted around 198,260 coconut farmers.

He added that the PCA’s coconut fertilization project covering 249,643 hectares has so far benefitted about 156,661 farmers.

Nograles also noted that the KAANIB Enterprise Development Project, which focuses on intercropping of coconut and various crops, has already covered 17,957 hectares.

Included in the KEDP project is the animal integration, allowing the PCA to distribute 4,812 livestock to more than 3,000 farmers, Nograles said.

Nograles said the PCA’s Coconut Hybridization Project has also resulted in the distribution of 1,531,956 hybrid planting materials and 2,307,330 open-pollinated varieties.

“So under your administration, Pangulong Duterte, kayo po ang gumawa nitong napakalaking tulong sa ating mga coconut farmers (President Duterte, you did this big help for our coconut farmers),” he said.