Status, Problems and Prospects of the Coconut Industry in Jaro, Leyte

Date

5-2018

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Loida E. Mojica

Committee Member

Arlene Gutierrez, Dia Noelle F. Velasco, Agnes T. Banzon, Normito R. Zapata, Jr.

Abstract

The study entitled “Status, Problems and Prospects of the Coconut Industry in Jaro, Leyte” was conducted to 1) present the overview of the coconut industry in Jaro, Leyte; 2) identify the problems and gaps within the industry; 3) analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the industry; 4) propose strategic investment and/or development entry points in the industry for entrepreneurs, government and/or non-government organization and 5) formulate specific recommendations to improve the performance and competitiveness of the industry.

A descriptive research design was employed in the study. Primary data were collected from coconut farmers through questionnaires and personal interviews with key informants. One hundred respondents were interviewed from the top five producing barangays in the municipality, with 20 respondents from each barangay. Seven key informants were interviewed including the municipal mayor, municipal agriculturist, Jaro coconut development officer, PCA Region VIII senior agriculturist, barangay captains of Brgy. Macanip and Brgy. San Agustin and the national coordinator of Kalipunan ng Maliliit na Magniniyog sa Pilipinas (KAMMPIL, Inc.) in Jaro. Secondary data were obtained from related literature, Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippine Statistics Authority and other government and institutional sources.

The data obtained were qualitatively analyzed and supplemented by statistical tools such as frequency counts and averages. PESTLE analysis and SWOT analysis was also used to further describe and analyze the Jaro coconut industry.

Eastern Visayas ranks sixth as the top coconut producing region in the Philippines. It contributed 10.36% to the average annual national production from 2006 to 2016. The province of Leyte is the number one coconut producing province in the region, contributing 34.74% of the production. The top producing municipality in the province usually interchanges between Jaro and Burauen. It is estimated that the annual production in the municipality of Jaro is 10,682,448 nuts, which is valued at ₱48,631,844.52, assuming that all of the nuts are solely used for copra production. However, the production in the area had a drastic decrease in 2013 when typhoon Yolanda caused damage to majority of the coconut trees.

The PCA have launched the Yolanda Recovery and Rehabilitation Program (YRRP) to build back the industry after the damage caused by Yolanda. It is composed of four major components namely the Debris Management, Replanting, Fertilization and Intercropping. Currently, around 32.39% of the completely damaged coconut trees have been replanted with a total of 793,434 remaining to be replaced.

The main problem of the Jaro coconut industry is low production. The production is dragged down by the problems with pests and diseases, typhoons, insufficient financial resources to buy inputs and farmers’ reliance on government support for the inputs. Most of the farmers are also poverty stricken, due to a number of factors including low production, fluctuation in copra prices and limited processing in the community.

Most of the stakeholders in the industry are positive that the production in the municipality would show an upward trend in the following years. Production forecasts point to increase to 28,259,482 annual nut production by 2028 under the most likely condition. There are a percentage of the farmers, however, who are still skeptical that the increase would not yet be realized within five years or that the production would further decrease. This is also manifested in the pessimistic forecast wherein the annual production is forecasted to decrease by 3,617,578 nuts by 2028. However, there are still a lot of opportunities for the coconut industry in Jaro including the continuous increase in population, changing dietary habits and increasing health consciousness, forecasted increase in production, emerging demand for non-traditional coconut products and increase in CME content of biofuels. These opportunities show the possibility of increasing the demand for different coconut products as well as the income of the farmers, which could help improve the industry as a whole.

Based on the analysis of the coconut industry in Jaro, four strategic options were proposed to help improve the industry and help the local farmers in the area. These recommendations are 1) continuous replanting; 2) integrated processing; 3) intercropping of high value crops in the farms; and 4) improvement of the resiliency of the industry against typhoons, pests and diseases. The different stakeholders would have varying roles in implementing these recommendations.

Further areas for research for future researchers were also recommended. This includes the analysis of the Jaro coconut supply chain, feasibility study on establishing the recommended processing activities and market study on the potential coconut value added products.

Language

English

LC Subject

Coconut industry--Philippines

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2018 M17 R67

Notes

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Document Type

Thesis

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