The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) will be providing incentives to coconut farmers in the island municipality of Caluya under the Coconut Hybridization Program.

Gregory Teñoso III, PCA Division Chief I for Aklan-Antique provincial office, said in an interview on Thursday that they will be procuring 122,000 coconut seed nuts under the program in December to be grown by farmers in Caluya.

“Coconut farmers will be given incentives for cultivating the seed nuts in their nurseries,” he said.

He added the PCA will give a PHP25 incentive for every seed nut they cultivate in the nursery and another PHP35 for each seedling planted.

The PCA seed nut, which will be procured from a Coconut Farmers Association, is a local tall variety that could produce more fruits in a shorter span of time.

“PCA has identified Caluya as a program beneficiary in order to replace the senile coconut plants and to encourage more farmers to continue embarking on coconut production,” Teñoso said.

He said Caluya in Antique has around 6,000 farmers with 700,070 coconut plants.

The coconut plants in Caluya are already mostly senile; they are no longer as productive so they need to be replaced.

“A coconut farmer could avail as many as 72 to 400 coconut seedlings for free depending on the area they have,” Teñoso said.

He said a farmer owning half a hectare could avail of 72 seedlings, while a farmer with a three-hectare area could have as many as 400 seedlings.

He added that to avail of the program, they have to be registered with the National Coconut Farmers’ Registry System, the official database being maintained by PCA to identify and verify coconut farmers. (PNA)