THE Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) wants amendments to the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund (CFITF) Act for greater control over funding priority projects, including a massive coconut planting program.
PCA Administrator Dexter Buted said the proposed measures would designate the PCA as the lead agency in implementing projects under the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP).
“We need to amend the law so that we can secure the sustainability of the industry,” Buted told reporters Wednesday.
Republic Act 11524, signed in 2021, governs the use of the coconut levy trust fund through the CFIDP. In May 2025, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the revised CFIDP for 2024-2028.
Buted said the PCA should take the lead in implementing the plan and coordinating its 15 implementing agencies.
The agency also wants to remove fixed percentage allocations for implementing agencies, including the Commission on Higher Education, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, and Development Bank of the Philippines.
Instead, funding would be allocated according to priority projects identified by the PCA, Buted said, noting greater flexibility is needed to address the industry’s aging trees and shortage of raw materials.
Some 30 million coconut trees turn senile each year, contributing to low productivity, Buted said. Current funding for planting materials is sufficient for only about 3 million trees.
The shortage has also affected coconut oil processors, which are operating at only 50 percent of capacity due to insufficient raw materials, Buted said.
To increase production, the PCA is pursuing large-scale planting and fertilization programs. Higher output is also needed to meet growing demand from industries such as biofuels.
Latest Philippine Statistics Authority data showed coconut production reached 14.51 million metric tons last year, slightly higher than 14.50 million MT in 2024.
