STA. ELENA, CAMARINES NORTE – Over a thousand coconut farmers in Camarines Norte will now have an additional source of income as the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) in Bicol turned over the P7.62 million-worth Coco Geonet Production and Coco Peat Processing Project to the Samahang Organic-Fair Trade Coconut Farmers Bicol-Quezon (SoFaCoFa B-Q).

In a Turn-Over Ceremony held on January 25, 2019, in Brgy. Poblacion, this municipality, the PRDP turned over the 10m x 12m processing and drying shed, a 10m x 15m warehouse, one unit decorticating machine, one unit carding machine, one unit sieving machine, one unit baling machine, 77 units twining machine, 17 units weaving loom, one heavy-duty weighing scale, and one unit hauling truck.

Governor Edgardo Tallado and other local officials including 1st District 3rd Board Member Reynoir Quibral, 4th Board Member Muriel Pandi and 5th Board Member Artemio Serdon Jr. graced the occasion, which also marked the blessing and inauguration of the facility.

“Dati nung wala pa itong proyektong ito, ang ating mga bunot (coconut husk) ay atin lang sinusunog o itinatapon—ito ay isang dating basura, na ngayon, dahil sa PRDP project na ganito ay nagkaroon ito ng value. Ito po ay dagdag na kita sa ating mga miyembrong magsasaka ng niyog (When this project was not yet implemented, coconut husks were either burnt or thrown away. Before, it iwas plain trash but due to PRDP’s initiative, such as this project, the coconut husk has now value. Also, this project helps our coconut farmer-members to increase their income),” said Reynaldo Lucis, president and project manager of SoFaCoFa B-Q.

The enterprise development (I-REAP) subproject will be implemented by the SoFaCoFa B-Q as a community-based enterprise. The organization that has 1,157 members will engage coconut farmers associations, rural women and youth in the 24 barangays covered (19 in Sta. Elena and five in Capalonga) as the source of coconut husks and labor providers. The project targets to create at least 2,152 additional new jobs and generate an average additional income worth P150 to P180.

Adelina Losa, PRDP-Bicol Deputy Project Director, acknowledged the support of the Provincial Project Management and Implementation Unit (PPMIU) and the proponent group in the project’s completion. She also assured the project partners will receive PRDP’s continuous assistance towards successful enterprise operation.

Furthermore, PRDP Project Support Office South Luzon Deputy Project Director Shandy Hubilla underscored four success indicators of the I-REAP subproject namely market, operation, financial management, and organization. He also announced that the pre-procurement conference for the P77 million-worth Concreting of the 3.44-kilometer Poblacion to Pulongguit-guit FMR adjacent to the I-REAP facility was already conducted on January 24, 2019.

“Kung nasaan ang enterprise nandoon din po ang kalsada at yun ang intensyon ng rural development project (As one of the objectives of the rural development project, the road is situated where the enterprise is located),” Hubilla added.

Camarines Norte accounts for 22.2 percent or 100,337 hectares of the coconut area in Bicol while Sta. Elena, where the project is located, ranks second in terms of number of coconut farmers and third in terms of production.

###(Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-RAFIS V)

The P7.62 million-worth Coco Geonet Production Project is projected to benefit 1,157 members of the Samahang Organic-Fair Trade Coconut Farmers Bicol-Quezon (SoFaCoFa B-Q) in Sta. Elena, Camarines Norte. (Photo by Eduardo D. Collantes Jr., DA-RAFIS V)

The unveiling of the project marker during the Turn-Over Ceremony of the Coco Geonet Production Project. (Photo by Eduardo D. Collantes Jr., DA-RAFIS V)

PRDP PSO South Luzon Deputy Project Director Shandy Hubilla (4th from left), Governor Edgardo Tallado (center), SoFaCoFa B-Q President Reynaldo Lucis (6th from right) and PRDP-Bicol Deputy Project Director Adelina Losa (7th from right) lead the ribbon-cutting during the Turn-Over Ceremony of the Coco Geonet Production Project. (Photo by Eduardo D. Collantes Jr., DA-RAFIS V)