By Minerva BC Newman CEBU CITY-- The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA 7) in Central Visayas last year invested P4.6 million in incentives to Bohol coconut farmers who are registered under the Participatory Coconut Planting Project (PCPP) to plant new trees or replant coconut trees which have been wantonly cut and used as lumber. PCA-Bohol information officer Jose Allan Cajilog told media in a forum in Tagbilaran City Thursday that there are 114,658 coconut seedlings that are already germinating ready for planting.  “We are now averaging the replanting of 314 coconut seedlings per day under the PCPP in 2019,” he said. Calijog said that PCA-7  encourages individual coconut farmers, be they landowners, owner-tiller, tenants or coconut farmers organizations and cooperatives, agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), integrated social forestry (ISF) beneficiaries and indigenous peoples who can set up equity contributions like planting areas for coconuts of at least 0.5 hectares to a maximum of 10 hectares. Those who can show proof of land ownership if landowner or owner-tiller, ARBs and ISFBs or landowner's letter of consent if they are tenants, can apply and register for the program, Calijog added. Participants must also have readily available source of good quality seed nuts and planting materials and must be willing to adopt PCA recommended technologies on seed nut nursery establishment, maintenance, transplanting and management of seedlings, Calijog went on. He added that with the PCPP, participants need to provide counterpart funds in the form of seed nuts and labor for nursery operations and maintenance and transplanting. PCA pays for every seed nut germinated and are about to be transferred, plus another batch for six months after the seeds have been transplanted.  The total amount of incentives is payable after five years or when the palm reaches its productive stage. Aside from the PCPP, Calijog said that the PCA continues with its Coconut Seedlings Dispersal Program (CSDP) of which 14,600 dwarf coconut seedlings have been given to coconut farmers in Bohol in 2019 costing some P1.2 million. According to Calijog despite the slump in copra price in the world market, PCA is always hopeful that a recovery is near and in the meantime, the government gives out 9,000 bags of organic fertilizer to coconut farmers in the province to improve their yields. PCA is urging farmers in Bohol to intercrop coffee or cacao under the coconut trees to increase incomes and to cover for the low prices of copra. “This year we are giving these coconut farmers 20,800 coffee seedlings and some 200 bags of complete fertilizers for the intercrops,” Calijog said.