They grow what has come to be universally known as "Tree of Life," whose many parts, when processed into high-value by-products, can turn coconut-producing communities into the best of several worlds.
Across the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines, coconut farmers are among the poorest of the poor. Their poverty has been attributed to, among other things, low coconut farm productivity and unstable markets for the traditional commercial coconut products.
Yet, pointed out internationally known agriculture scientist Dr. Pons Batugal, "if farmers sell all parts of the coconut, their income can increase five-to tenfold."
Now comes a just-completed Asia-Pacific research program which identified and initially documented 50 marketable high-value products and technologies and suitable varieties for producing them that could increase farmers income five to 10 times more than what they normally earn.
The research also identified promising intercropping technologies that could increase coconut farm incomes by three to five times. Moreover, it collected, conserved, evaluated, and identified early bearing and high-yielding coconut varieties and hybrids that can increase yields by three to five times those of traditional varieties.
The research program was implemented by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) and International Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT) with funding support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IRAD).
Malaysia-based COGENT was organized by IPGRI in 1992 to serve as a coordinating mechanism to promote conservation and exchange of coconut genetic materials. Member-countries, now numbering 38, collaborate in research an exchange of useful materials to promote sustainable coconut production and to enhance incomes of coconut farmers.
COGENT is coordinated by Dr. Batugal, a UP Los Baños alumnus and one-time a ranking official of the Los Baños-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).
The program, entitled "Sustainable Use of Coconut Genetic Resources to Enhance Incomes and Nutrition of Coconut smallholders in the Asia-Pacific Region," covered the Philippines, China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Fiji, Malaysia, Samos, the Solomons, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.
IPGRI and COGENT, noting the predicament of coconut farmers, initiated a three-pronged strategy:
• To effectively identify, conserve, and utilize coconut genetic resources for developing adapted and high-yielding varieties.
• To promote multipurpose uses of the coconut through the development of high-value products and identification of suitable varieties for such products.
• To promote the development of coconut-based farming systems and conservation strategies to increase the income of coconut farmers per unit area per unit time.
To support the strategy, IFAD provided a research grant to IPGRI.
The program has two components, namely: Enhancing the capacity of national agricultural research systems (NARS) in participatory technology development in coconut conservation and utilization; and research and improving the income-generating potential of coconut production systems.
The program consisted of 17 projects, 14 of which were implemented by the national programs in the Asia-Pacific region.
IPGRI and COGENT collaborated with farmers, NARS, and the extension systems in 14 Asia-Pacific countries to develop a protocol (the plan of a scientific research) for farmer participatory research in coconut.
The results have been very encouraging.
In the Philippines, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) conducted studies under the program to estimate the income-generating potential of 20 high-value coconut products. Among these are coconut furniture, wood parquet flooring, coir-wood-cement board, beds from coir fiber, coconut water vinegar, sap sugar, macaroons, sap syrup, nata de coco, "bukayo," "lambanog," coco burger, "buko" pie, "buko" drink, "maja blanca," coco jam, and cookies.
The Philippine studies indicated that a net income of $4 to $11.80 can be generated per person per day and $50 to $59.36 per person per month. Village-level processing enterprises can generate net incomes of $225/ha per month to $562/ha per month.
"These incomes are at least 13 times more than the traditional income from copra, which is $200/ha per year," IPGRI-COGENT emphasized.
Intercropping in farmers fields also could considerably increase farm income of coconut farmers. In the Philippines, the identified profitable intercrops are cacao, banana, corn, sweet potato, peanut, squash, stringbeans, pineapple, upland rice, and abaca. The net incomes from these intercrops range from $184 (upland rice) to $1,368 (stringbeans) per hectare.
India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Fiji pursued research on tender nut (TN) production. Using suitable varieties for TN, it was estimated that coconut farmers in India could earn about $1,978 per hectare per year, which is about 10 times the income from the traditional copra.
In Thailand where 17 high-value coconut products were studied, it was estimated that village factories could earn net incomes ranging from $2,857 per year (nata de coco) to $85,000 (canned coconut milk) per year.
In Vietnam, three marketable products have been identified – rope/geotextiles, coconut shell handicraft, and "nata de coco" from mature coconut water. One study also indicated that a family, working part-time, could earn $1,273 per month from producing shell charcoal.
Indonesia and Vietnam also undertook research on coconut palm sugar production.
"The project," reported IPGRI-COGENT, "provided farmers with the opportunity to participate in the research activity that demonstrated how they can augment their traditionally marginal income and, in the process, gave them a better appreciation of the value of their coconut genetic resources, and the impetus to conserve them through use."
It added that the project has identified genetic resources and promising technologies and strategies that could be deployed to increase incomes of resource-poor farmers in coconut-growing communities.