BALER, Aurora (PIA) — About 170 farmers in Dilasag, Aurora received ₱1.139 million in incentives for raising and planting healthy seedlings under the Participatory-Based Coconut Planting Program (PCPP).
The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) released the incentives to support coconut farm rehabilitation, replace old and unproductive palms, and expand planting under the Coconut Hybridization Program (CHP).
PCA Aurora Acting Division Chief Aldrin Veneracion said the incentives encourage farmers to produce their preferred planting materials and help restore coconut areas damaged by typhoons.
“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, farmers source and raise their own seednuts as planting materials and receive payments in three phases based on seedling development and establishment.
In Dilasag, the farmers sown 32,561 seednuts intended for 228 hectares coconut farms, with each seednut earning a P35 incentive under Option II Phase I of the PCPP.
Veneracion said the PCA also provides fertilizers and trains farmers in proper planting and farm maintenance practices to help them establish healthier, more productive coconut palms.
During his 2026 State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. underscored the administration’s drive to expand coconut planting nationwide and strengthen the industry for the years ahead.
“Ang mga taniman naman ng niyog ay dumadami at lumalawak din, dala ng ating programa ng malawakang pagtatanim sa buong bansa. Nakapagtanim na tayo ng labingwalong milyong puno,” Marcos said.
“At layunin po natin na sa pagkatapos ng Administrasyong ito, makakapagtanim tayo ng isandaang milyong puno ng niyog sa Pilipinas. Gagarantiyahan nito ang tatag ng ating industriya ng niyog hanggang sa mga susunod na dekada,” he added.
The planting and farm support measures are expected to raise coconut productivity, improve farm income, and help expand the country’s coconut base in line with the administration’s long-term industry goals. (CLJD/BPO, PIA Region 3-Aurora)
