Cres Ian Lorenzo
DILASAG, Aurora — Coconut farmers in Aurora are helping push the national target of planting 100 million coconut trees, joining the Philippine Coconut Authority's (PCA) push to rehabilitate aging farms and storm-hit plantations in Central Luzon.
The effort is being carried out under the PCA Coconut Hybridization Program (CHP), which provides incentives to replace old and unproductive palms, restore typhoon-damaged areas, and expand new planting.
PCA Aurora Acting Division Chief Aldrin Veneracion said the incentive scheme allows farmers to produce their own preferred planting materials while accelerating replanting in affected communities.
“The provision of incentives aims to encourage coconut farmers to produce their preferred planting materials, and support the replacement of senile and unproductive coconut palms, as well as the replanting and rehabilitation of coconut areas previously damaged by typhoons,” Veneracion said.
Under the program, participating farmers raise their own seednuts for planting and receive financial support in three phases based on seedling development and establishment.
The scheme is part of the Philippine Coconut Planting Program (PCPP) Option II, Phase I, where each seednut qualifies for a P35 incentive.
In Dilasag town, farmers have sown 32,561 seednuts intended for about 228 hectares of coconut farms. PCA said the volume marks a significant contribution to both local rehabilitation and the national planting goal.
Boosting Central Luzon coconut industry
Aurora, the coconut capital of Central Luzon, has faced repeated losses from typhoons that flattened plantations and from senile trees that no longer bear enough fruit. The replanting program is expected to raise productivity, restore damaged farms and provide additional income support to growers.
The 100-million coconut tree program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. aims to revitalize the coconut sector, improve farmer incomes, and secure raw material supply for domestic processing and export.
PCA said Aurora's participation shows strong grassroots buy-in, with farmers themselves producing planting materials suited to local conditions.
Officials said the approach not only speeds up rehabilitation but also ensures better survival rates, as farmers manage seednuts from sourcing to field planting.
With incentives now released and seednuts sown across hundreds of hectares, Aurora is positioning itself as a key contributor to the national target while working to rebuild a more resilient and productive coconut industry in Central Luzon.
