PCA prepares palm oil industry roadmap

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is preparing an industry roadmap for the development of the local palm oil industry.

PCA administrator Euclides Forbes said the a draft industry roadmap has been created for business years 2014 to 2023 during a recent summit held in Cebu.

The summit was attended by representatives from the Philippine Palm Oil Development Council Inc. (PPDCI) , Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), University of Mindanao, Local Government Units (LGUs) and private stakeholders.

“We believe that palm oil can emerge as another significant agricultural crop if we work hand-in-hand in nurturing and developing the oil palm industry, “PCA Forbes said.

Based on the roadmap, the PCA aims to develop the oil palm industry through effective production, processing and marketing of oil palm products and by-products.

The roadmap entails increasing the cultivation areas for palm oil to 300,000 hectares from the current 56,641 hectares of land planted with bearing and non-bearing oil palms.

PCA also wants to establish strong partnerships with the private industry players as they show a growing interest in developing the oil palm industry.

Forbes said an estimated one million hectares of land have been identified as potential areas for oil palm expansion.

Carlos B. Carpio, PCA deputy administrator for Research, Development and Extension Branch (RDEB) assured that no trees would be cut to give way to oil palm cultivation

“Those lands which are considered for oil palm plantation expansion are idle and unproductive lands,” he said.

The palm oil industry continues to generate jobs for the farmers just like the coconut industry because of increased global demand.

The PCA is mandated to oversee the development of the coconut and the palm oil industry.