PCA Rolls Out Twin Program Aimed at Boosting Coconut Production and Global Competitiveness

The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is on track to meet President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive of planting 100 million coconut palms nationwide under its Twin Program. This initiative combines massive planting and replanting and strategic fertilization to boost the country’s coconut production and global competitiveness.
In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview on Wednesday this week, PCA Administrator Dexter Buted reported that the agency has already planted 10.3 million palms between 2023 and 2024.  He said this output exceeded the 2024 target with the agency aiming to plant an additional 15.3 million this year.
Apart from production targets, the government is also addressing long-standing challenges in the sector.  According to the PCA, fertilization efforts were underfunded covering less than 1 percent of the nation’s 345 million coconut trees. This year, the agency received a PHP1.8 billion boost for fertilization and an additional PHP1 billion for planting efforts.
These would significantly expand its capacity to enhance yield and raw material supply for value-added coconut products like biofuel, aviation fuel, and coconut methyl ester.