Annual coconut production in the province is at 90 million nuts on average before “Yolanda” but dropped to only 37 million nuts last year, PCA-Capiz senior agriculturist Noel Alvarez said.
The Philippine Statistics Authority, formerly the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, concurred the record, he said.
“With the massive planting and replanting of coconut in the province, we target to produce 90 million nuts in 2016 from the more than 1.3 million fruit-bearing coconut trees,” said Alvarez.
A coconut tree, if it has recovered from the devastation caused by “Yolanda,” can yield an average of 60 nuts per year, he noted.
Coconut planting and replanting activities under the Yolanda Rehabilitation Project for 2014-2015 involving 275,700 coconut seedlings will cover some 2,757 hectares, PCA records showed.
The program also includes intercropping of crops like banana, corn, coffee, vegetables, and sweet potato, or camote.
About 668,429 coconut trees in Capiz were totally damaged — left crownless, fallen down or broken — after “Yolanda,” according to the Nov. 12, 2013 PCA report submitted to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. (PIA/PN)
