PCA seeks more funds for fertilization

THE national budget of the coconut industry must gear towards better fertilization for the trees more than replanting, said Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) official.

PCA administrator Romulo dela Rosa stressed how more than the traditional salt fertilizer that the coconut farmers are used to giving their plants, coconut need more multinutrient fertilizers. This, he said, can be achieved with bigger national budget.

“The funding for our fertilization program is very low such that we can only reach 10 percent of the entire area. If we continue at that level, then the impact will be very low. We have farmers who are complaining that they do not receive their allocations,” said Dela Rosa.

He proposed that coconut trees should be given better fertilizers as, aside from chlorine and nitrogen, the coconut trees are in need of other nutrients for proper growth as well.

“We have to increase the budget for fertilization. We will propose to the national government, by out next budgeting, to decrease a bit the replanting budget and to transfer some of it to the fertilization program,” Dela Rosa said adding he believes about P500 million will be the ideal budget for the industry’s fertilization program.

In his keynote speech, Dela Rosa also stressed the fear of coconut farmers that using fertilizers removes them from the organic process. He said they should understand that coconuts need fertilizers as well and that there is such a thing as organic fertilizers.

Dela Rosa added how some of the coconuts in the Philippines are actu- ally “organic by neglect” which means that no thorough care in terms of fertilization is being exerted and that others take pride in calling it organically grown.

Aside from fertilization, dela Rosa also proposed that there be coconut irrigation as the coconuts are the ones greatly affected by droughts as palays also are.

“Other countries that irrigate coconuts have increased their production by about four times,” he said.