ABSTRACT
The coconut is considered a ‘tree of life’ as it provides many products such as liquid from the water and flower sap, cream, milk and cooking oil from the kernel, geotextiles and organic fertilizer from the husk, activated carbon and fashion accessories from the shell, baskets and brooms from the leaves and lately, medicinal, cosmeceutical and nutriceutical products and biofuel from the oil. In the Philippines, although coconut earns about US$1 billion annually from exports and about one-third of the population depend on the coconut directly or indirectly, coconut farmers still belong to the marginalized sector of society and most live below the poverty line. Despite its economic importance, the potential of the coconut has not been fully realized to help the poor coconut farmers. Over 90 per cent of coconut farmers are smallholders, tending four hectares or less; many work on land they do not own; are considered unbankable by the formal banking sector; and usually do not have political clout to influence government or private sector policy. Due to poverty, coconut farmers in general are not capable of or interested in improving their aging coconut farms, resulting in decreasing yields and exports. Unless poverty in coconut growing communities is effectively addressed in a sustainable manner, the situation will further worsen and lead to the demise of coconut, an important crop for the poor.
