April 15, 2021 --- A total of 160 coconut farmers from Panukulan, Quezon received their check incentives for participating in the Crop Diversification Project under the expanded COVID-19 response of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Coconut Authority (DA-PCA).

A total of ₱720,000.00 pesos worth of check incentives were distributed to the 160 Quezon coconut farmers. The coconut farmer-participants outsourced planting materials such as sweet potato cuttings, cassava cuttings, and banana suckers. These were planted under coconut trees in 0.5-1.0-hectare coconut farms.

Under the Crop Diversification Project of the DA-PCA, coconut farmer-participants receive an amount of ₱5,000.00 per hectare of coconut trees with intercrops.

The project aims to augment the income of coconut farmers, enhance food supply, and mitigate hunger. The project guidelines include that the intercropping shall be implemented in newly planted, established, or replanted coconut farms using short-gestation crops. The five (5) priority intercrops include vegetables, corn, sweet potato, cassava, and banana.

The DA-PCA also subsidizes a portion of the necessary fertilizer requirement for the intercrops to ensure early productivity and ample harvest. ###