The much-delayed Coconut Hub project in Balilihan lands a strong congressional backing after Bohol’s first district solon expresses his support to the project during the second virtual Provincial Stakeholders Forum of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), according to a report coming from the office of Rep. Edgar Chatto sent to The Bohol Tribune om Nov. 6, 2020.
Rep. Chatto raised this concern about the delayed project during the Congressional Budget Hearing of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Chatto raised the concern in the presence of Sec. William Dar and PCA Administrator Benjamin Madrigal.
The delayed project is one of the major concerns brought up by coconut industry stakeholders in first forum in October 2020.
Moreover, the project was offered as a grant from the PCA when Chatto was still the governor of Bohol.
The Local Government Unit (LGU) of Balilihan acquired the land to be used by the hub while the provincial government allocated P 10 million in counterpart fund to be used in the said project, the same report bares.
The report reveals that the coconut hub is seen as a means to aid coconut farmers by providing them with technical assistance and training, facilities, and market information.
Furthermore, the hub will also help farmers undertake product development and put up village-level enterprises to produce higher-value products, improve product quality, and establish connections with viable markets.
For his part, Chatto also expressed strong support for the initiatives and activities of the coconut industry, citing continued efforts and involvement of stakeholders are vital to produce better results.
The forum paves way for the coconut industry development roadmap, Madrigal said.
Madrigal added that the concept of the stakeholder engagement is a countrywide model for community involvement related to the coconut industry.
The stakeholder engagement strategy allows reporting of issues and concerns, information exchange, pooling of resources, identification of priorities, integrating programs, and consolidation of plans with development agenda of other commodities like coffee and cacao and other high value crops.
It is expected that a coconut industry roadmap for Bohol will be formed as a result of the community engagement, which will transform the coconut industry in the province for the better.
Currently, Bohol has an area of 35,338 hectares allotted for coconut trees.
Over 100,000 coconut farmers produce 141.85 million coconuts annually.
The Bohol PCA Multi Sector Advisory Board officers also took oath before Madrigal during the online forum.
Other participants in the online forum included: Regional Administrator Brendan Transmonte, PCA Bohol head Emiliano Romero, farmers, processors, LGUs, academe, media, and representatives from coffee and cacao councils in the province, the report said.