Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants a concrete plan for the coconut industry as he sees a “big opportunity” amid the administration’s target to plant 100 million trees by 2028.
In a statement on Thursday, Malacañang said the president had a meeting with officials of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) where they discussed the proposed massive tree-planting project.There’s a big opportunity so let’s have a look at that… Kailangan natin mayroon tayong plano (We need to have a plan),” Marcos said.Under the plan, the PCA seeks to plant 20 to 25 million trees every year from 2023 to 2028, a few decades after it launched the same initiative.However, Marcos said political terms should not bar the agency from continuing the rehabilitation and development program.The PCA is proposing to issue a memorandum of agreement with local government units, with the latter implementing coconut planting and replanting, seed farm development, and coconut fertilization, to name a few.According to the Palace, the country has 3.6 million hectares planted with coconut trees, with 340.6 million coconut-bearing trees capable of producing 14 to 15 billion coconuts annually.
