Fortifying a strong foundation for future growth, the Philippine Coconut Authority held its 2024 Midyear Planning and Performance Assessment Conference on July 10-12, 2024.

Organized by the Corporate Planning Service (CPS) Department, the three-day conference brought together PCA’s top management, including the regional managers across all regions, division and unit chiefs along their planning coordinators, and representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), other stakeholders, and industry partners.

Guided by theme, “𝘒𝘢-𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘨-𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘊𝘈, 𝘒𝘢-𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘨-𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘺𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘯, 𝘒𝘢-𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘨-𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘴” the event fostered the culture of ‘oneness’ and highlighted the power of ‘we’ in ushering the relevant changes to drive the Authority and the coconut industry on the road to sustainability and prosperity to all coconut farmers for the years ahead.

As resonated in Administrator Dexter R. Buted’s words, “𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔; 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑢𝑠, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠; 𝑓𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒. 𝐸𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑢𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒.”

Among the agenda outlined include the setting of the PCA’s Strategic Directions grounded on how the agency is positioned through the ‘Presentation of the Roadmap of the DA’, ‘Presentation of the GCG’s Policies on GOCCs and Validation of the PCA’s Performance Evaluation System (PES)’. Additionally, the Administration and Finance Branch, Research and Development Branch, and Operations Branch presented their 2024 Q1 and Q2 accomplishments, including status of projects and programs on hybridization, CFIDP, and other initiatives. Following each presentation, a facilitated open forum enabled deep dives into the issues raised and the development of actionable solutions.

Strategic planning, as emphasize by the CPS Department Manager, Ma. Odessa M. Pacaul, is “…𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔-𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠. 𝐼𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑒𝑛ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛-𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦.”

The event actively engaged the top management chiefs in a dynamic meeting of minds in navigating the ‘7-Step Strategic Planning Process,’ consisting of revisiting the Institutional Vision, Mission, Goals, and Directions; Discussion of the Results of the SWOT and Current Performance Analyses done during the agency’s ‘Futures Thinking’ training in April; Formulation of Strategic Goals and Options; Preparation and Critiquing of Action Plans; Resource Allocation; Deployment of Strategic Plans; and Monitoring of Strategic Plan.

Key discussions centered on the proposed PCA Enhanced Five-Year Strategic and Development Plan and Annual Operations Plan, Proposed Risk Management Plan, and Guidance on the Preparation of the Fiscal Year 2025 Work and Financial Plan. These discussions form a pivotal part of the agency’s future direction as a united organization mandated to drive the country’s coconut industry.

In full support of the President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” R. Marcos and the Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco “Kiko” Tiu Laurel, Jr.’s vision for a progressive Philippines, the PCA launched the ‘𝗞𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗔𝗸𝗼 𝗕𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘆𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗻’ Campaign in its planning initiatives; it is a portmanteau, which blends “bayani,” “niyog,” and “pagtutulungan.” This campaign embodies the ‘bayanihan’ spirit, a Filipino cultural value of communal unity and cooperation, seeking to harness everyone’s contribution in the coconut industry.

“𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑃𝐶𝐴. 𝐵𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠𝑎 𝑠𝑎 𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑎𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑖. 𝐸𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦, 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑛 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛-𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠,” Ms. Pacaul echoed.

The conference set a robust precedent for the agency’s future endeavors. By fostering unity and strategic planning, the PCA is poised to lead the coconut industry towards a sustainable and prosperous future for all stakeholders. This unwavering commitment to strategic initiatives and community-driven progress solidifies PCA's role as a pivotal force in transforming the Philippine coconut industry into a model of agricultural excellence and economic vitality.

The collective resolve of PCA's leadership and partners was clear: to drive the coconut industry to new heights, ensuring that every Filipino coconut farmer reaps the benefits of a thriving, inclusive, and sustainable industry.

The PCA is not just planning for the future; it is actively shaping it, with every strategy and initiative designed to create lasting impact and meaningful change.