Coconut seed farms will be established in all coconut-producing provinces in the country in a bid to boost local production, an Agriculture official said Tuesday, Aug. 31.
"Through the hybridization program, we will be establishing seed farms in all coconut-producing provinces para hindi na tayo nagta-travel travel ng mga seednuts (so we would no longer need to travel just to obtain seednuts from other provinces)," Department of Agriculture-Philippine Coconut Authority (DA-PCA) Administrator Benjamin R. Madrigal said during a press briefing.
Madrigal explained that through the program, they aim to increase the country's coconut productivity.
He said: "So far the country's productivity from traditional trees is at 30 percent compared to hybrid which must be increased."
"Sa ibang bansa, umaabot na ng 150 nuts per tree tayo nasa mga 42 pa lamang kaya kailangan talaga itaas pa yung yield (In other countries, they are reaching 150 nuts per tree while us, we are only producing 42 nuts per tree. This is why we need to increase our yield)," Madrigal stressed.
Seed farms in coconut-yielding provinces will be patterned with their respective regional development plan and must be supervised by plant breeders to ensure the quality of the seedlings before planting.