MARKET DEVELOPMENT
P24M For Oil Palm in 2016
P24M For Oil Palm in 2016
23/10/2015 (BusinessWorld Online Edition) - The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) will allocate some nearly P24 million for the oil palm sector from its budget next year -- less than the agency had been aiming for.
“For 2016, the PCA’s proposed budget was considerably reduced; thus, oil palm sector was alloted only P23.658 million,” said Marianita N. Eroy, senior science research specialist at the PCA-Davao Research Center.
Based on the Department of Budget and Management’s 2016 National Expenditure Program, the PCA’s budget next year will be P1.29 billion, down 70% from this year’s P4.1 billion.
The PCA’s oil palm sector spending next year under the Smallholder Oil Palm Plantation Development Project (SOPDP) will be mainly to provide planting materials and farmers’ training.
Ms. Eroy said the SOPDP fund breaks down into P20.4 million for farm inputs; P2.1 million, capacity building; and P1.2 million, administrative costs.
“Oil palm is part of the mandate of the (PCA); thus its development is being pursued parallel to coconut. Given the limited government resources and the share of the sector compared to coconut, it may seem to be left behind, but is actually receiving proportionate attention,” said PCA Administrator Romulo N. Arancon, Jr. in an e-mail interview with BusinessWorld.
During the 9th National Oil Palm Congress held in General Santos City last August, Senator Francisco N. Pangilinan, then presidential adviser for Food Security, said a P50-million fund had been allocated for the program to develop 1 million hectares of oil palm plantations in the country over a 10-year period.
A committee within the PCA Governing Board has been created to oversee and formulate guidelines for a sustainable development of the country’s oil palm sector while an industry database of growers, production, and other information is also being put together.
Mr. Arancon pointed out the development of oil palm farms is capital-intensive, and so the government is pursuing “collaborative efforts with the private sector.”
Under the 2014-2015 SOPDP, Mr. Arancon said, the PCA strengthened linkages with the Philippine Palm Oil Development Council, Inc. (PPDCI) and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, one of the world’s major palm oil producers.
The PCA is also planning to set up “40 hectares of oil-palm-based crop modelling system and fertilizer trials in Central and Northern Mindanao.”
Research projects have also been initiated with the University of Southern Mindanao for a geographic information-system-based soil suitability classification in Soccsksargen and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Crude palm oil prices are seen to increase in the world market next year with lower production due to the prevailing El Niño that is affecting major producers Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Philippines is a net importer of palm oil, with an import value estimated by the PPDCI to reach about $600 this year.
“For 2016, the PCA’s proposed budget was considerably reduced; thus, oil palm sector was alloted only P23.658 million,” said Marianita N. Eroy, senior science research specialist at the PCA-Davao Research Center.
Based on the Department of Budget and Management’s 2016 National Expenditure Program, the PCA’s budget next year will be P1.29 billion, down 70% from this year’s P4.1 billion.
The PCA’s oil palm sector spending next year under the Smallholder Oil Palm Plantation Development Project (SOPDP) will be mainly to provide planting materials and farmers’ training.
Ms. Eroy said the SOPDP fund breaks down into P20.4 million for farm inputs; P2.1 million, capacity building; and P1.2 million, administrative costs.
“Oil palm is part of the mandate of the (PCA); thus its development is being pursued parallel to coconut. Given the limited government resources and the share of the sector compared to coconut, it may seem to be left behind, but is actually receiving proportionate attention,” said PCA Administrator Romulo N. Arancon, Jr. in an e-mail interview with BusinessWorld.
During the 9th National Oil Palm Congress held in General Santos City last August, Senator Francisco N. Pangilinan, then presidential adviser for Food Security, said a P50-million fund had been allocated for the program to develop 1 million hectares of oil palm plantations in the country over a 10-year period.
A committee within the PCA Governing Board has been created to oversee and formulate guidelines for a sustainable development of the country’s oil palm sector while an industry database of growers, production, and other information is also being put together.
Mr. Arancon pointed out the development of oil palm farms is capital-intensive, and so the government is pursuing “collaborative efforts with the private sector.”
Under the 2014-2015 SOPDP, Mr. Arancon said, the PCA strengthened linkages with the Philippine Palm Oil Development Council, Inc. (PPDCI) and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, one of the world’s major palm oil producers.
The PCA is also planning to set up “40 hectares of oil-palm-based crop modelling system and fertilizer trials in Central and Northern Mindanao.”
Research projects have also been initiated with the University of Southern Mindanao for a geographic information-system-based soil suitability classification in Soccsksargen and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Crude palm oil prices are seen to increase in the world market next year with lower production due to the prevailing El Niño that is affecting major producers Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Philippines is a net importer of palm oil, with an import value estimated by the PPDCI to reach about $600 this year.