The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) held the National Coconut Research, Development and Extension Summit 2019 on December 11-12, 2019 at Serrano Hall, Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in Diliman, Quezon City.

The Summit is in celebration of the 45th year founding anniversary of PCA’s Research and Development Branch (RDB), which was participated by various coconut industry stakeholders and sectors. The Summit was participated by 176 individuals from the government, academe, and private sector.

The theme of the Summit this year is “Siyensya at teknolohiya susi sa Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita,” which puts forward the key role of Research and Development (R&D) in achieving the twin objectives of the Department of Agriculture that is “Masaganang ani, mataas na kita.”

Day 1 of the Summit was a plenary session, which was divided into three parts, namely: R&D State of the Arts, R&D Innovations and advancements, and Research utilization and extension. Each part was composed of three different main topics and resource speakers, and after each part was an open forum. Below is the list of the topics discussed during the plenary:

Day 1 | Session 1. R&D State of the Art

Status, Challenges and Opportunities of the Philippine Coconut Industry
Mr. Roel M. Rosales, OIC-Administrator, PCA

Coconut R&D Status and Directions Responsive to the New Thinking in Agriculture
Ms. Erlene C. Manohar, OIC-Deputy Administrator, PCA

Industry Strategic Plan of DOST and Investment for Coconut R&D
Dr. Reynaldo V. Ebora, Executive Director, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD)

Day 1 | Session 2. R&D Innovations and Advances
Biotechnology: Challenges and Prospects towards Global Competitiveness of the Coconut Industry
Dr. Hayde F. Galvez, Assistant Professor IV, Genetics Laboratory Head, Institute of Plant Breeding, UPLB

Hybridization: Addressing Low Productivity towards “Masaganang Ani” and Product Diversity
Mr. Ramon L. Rivera, Department Manager III, PCA-Zamboanga Research Center

Biofuel for Bio-energy, Bioeconomy and Production of Ecology
Mr. Rafael S. Diaz, Jr., President, Asian Institute of Petroleum Studies, Inc.

Coconut Water: Cutting Edge, Status, Market Trends and Opportunities
Mr. Angel B. Arias, Supply Chain Senior Manager, Franklin Baker Company of the Philippines

Day 1 | Session 3. Research Utilization and Extension
Bringing Technologies to the Farming Communities: KAANIB Enterprise and Agro-Hub Development Program for “Mataas na Kita”
Mr. Dennis D. Andres, Regional Manager III, PCA Regions I-IVB

Public-Private-Partnership towards Agri-businessizing the Coconut Industry
Mr. Jesse F. Cheng, Chairman, Philippine Coconut Oil Producers Association, Inc. (PCOPA)

Day 2 of the Summit on the other hand was an action-planning workshop, where the participants came up with, and presented their action plans, given the inputs from the two-day summit. The workshop was also divided into three sessions, namely: 1) Technologies and R&D Directions Towards Economic Opportunities, 2) Technology Delivery and Utilization, and 3) Technological Development Towards Industrialization.

Throughout the conduct of the Summit, emphasis was given on how the way forward for the agriculture sector is to further the processing and the manufacturing of high-value products, and to focus on a market-oriented approach. PCA OIC-Administrator Rosales remarked that in order to achieve these, a clustered plantation is to be made more prevalent through more intensive fertilization, more distribution and utilization of hybrids, and more investments on the manufacturing of coconut products.