COUNCILOR Sonya Verdeflor urged residents of Bacolod City to plant coconut trees, which are useful in many ways especially in food, hair treatment, and home decors.
There is a call from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to plant seven million coconut trees every year nationwide within five years to make up for around 36 million coconut trees lost during the typhoons and cocolisap infestation.
Verdeflor authored a resolution passed during the City Council session Wedenesday, June 21, urging Bacolodnons to support the said call, citing a report from the PCA stating that the coconut industry lost around 33 million coconut trees during typhoons Pablo and Yolanda and about two to three million coconut trees due to cocolisap infestations and the cuttings that were not properly regulated.
“If it was not for the development of the high-value by-products of coconuts, like the virgin coconut oil and the coconut water, the coconut industry would have been a dying industry,” PCA board member Roque Quimpan said.
Records for the previous years had shown growing demand for coconuts but local governments were not able to provide according to PCA’s mandate, especially the delivery of the products because the availability of raw materials are limited.