The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) said it is looking at the possibility of implementing a coco-sustainability project in Region 8 in its bid to promote sustainable coconut oil production in the Philippines.
Max-Johannes Baumann, program director of the Environment and Rural Development Program in the Philippines, told reporters the GIZ is consulting with potential private partners to develop the second phase of the coconut-sustainability project it rolled out in Region 11 in 2011.
“We’ve already certified several hundred farmers on sustainable coconut production and just recently, we got the permission from the German government to continue this. At the moment we are exploring with different private partners to design a second phase to replicate this in Region 8 and maybe even in other countries, like Indonesia,” Baumann said.
In an earlier statement, the GIZ said it partnered with BASF and Cargill to improve the sustainability of coconut oil production and boost the livelihood of 2,500 small farmers in Mindanao.
The program, which was co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development under the develoPPP.de programme, trained small farmers in good agricultural practices and the standards of the Sustainable Agricultural Network (SAN).
“The goal is to increase their income by boosting productivity and coconut oil quality. The program also aims to introduce the SAN standard, which is the basis for certification by the Rainforest Alliance,” the statement read.
Baumann said the GIZ engages in such projects involving coconut due to the high demand for coconut oil, which is used in many cosmetic products.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country’s total coconut production for the second quarter of 2015 dropped slightly to 3.41 million metric tons (MMT) from 3.43 MMT recorded in the same period last year.
Region 11, or the Davao region, was the biggest coconut-producing area for the April-to-June period, accounting to 561,427 metric tons, or 16.48 percent, of the country’s total production.
Meanwhile, a similar initiative in abaca sustainability is being implemented by the GIZ in Region 6.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala earlier said the project will benefit 300 farmers in Aklan and Iloilo, which allocated a combined 500 hectares of certified abaca-production area. Similar to the coconut oil-sustainability initiative, abaca farmers will undergo certification from the Rainforest Alliance for SAN standards.