GUIMARAS – The provincial government, together with various stakeholders, broke ground on a coconut processing facility in Sapal, San Lorenzo town yesterday.
The P16-million White Copra and RBDO (Refined Bleached Deodorized Oil) Processing Center is funded under the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP)-Shared Processing Facilities, with Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHILMEC) as the main implementer.
It is specifically located at the 10-hectare Agri-Fishery Industrial Village of the provincial government.
The coconut processing facility aims to increase the income of coconut farmers, alleviate poverty, improved productivity, and achieve social equality.
According to Gov. JC Rahman Nava, who led the groundbreaking ceremony, the project will greatly benefit the province’s coconut farmers whose cooperative has more or less 2,000 members.
“This would be an added market sa aton coconut farmers on top of purely copra kag kon ano pa gid nga bagay. This is an additional market because nagahatag sang option sa aton mga coconut farmers. We are confident nga makahatag sang benepisyo sa ila in terms of increase in income kay naga-provide kita sang steady and added market,” said Nava.
The governor noted that although mango is the flagship commodity of the province, it is only No. 3 in terms of the biggest crops of the province. The No. 1 is palay and followed by coconut.
“Coconut is the No. 2 biggest crop of the province. That’s why kinanglan ta man nga tatapon ang ini nga industry,” he added.
There is no specific timelinemas to when the project would be complete and operational but Nava said the construction will be expedited.
The coconut farmer’s cooperative, as the main beneficiary of the project, will be the one to operate and manage the facility, under the supervision of the provincial government.
Also present during the groundbreaking ceremony were Provincial Agriculturist Alvin Nava, Assistant Secretary Vergilio Lazaga of the Cooperative Development Authority, Philippine Coconut Authority Regional manager Neil Melencio, Philmech director IV Dionisio G. Alvindia, Guimaras Coconut Farmers Agri Cooperative chairman Johnny Galve, representative of Sen. Cynthia Villar, and other Guimaras officials./PN
