The Iloilo Provincial Government is making strides in promoting sustainable agriculture by incorporating cacao, coffee, and coconut in its tree growing program towards its long-term vision of becoming a “forest province.”
During the kickoff of the National Coffee, Cacao, and Coconut (CoCaNut) Congress 2024, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. shared his recently launched environmental program “Tanum Iloilo for MoRProGRes” which is designed for a sustainable agriculture, tourism, and disaster resilience.
Defensor stressed that in achieving a resilient agriculture, the provincial government is prioritizing the planting of native, fruit-bearing, and indigenous trees to recover the province’s forest and provide business opportunities to farmers.
“We will pursue tree growing and forest development in the province. And customarily, when we engage in tree planting or forest development, we plant our indigenous species – narra, molave, dapitong. But we want to put coconut, cacao, and coffee in the mainstream of our tree planting and tree growing program.
Because they belong there. Cacao and coffee are rainforest species, together with coconut,” he said.
Defensor said that aside from contributing to the province’s agricultural productivity, coffee, cacao, and coconut also play a significant role in enhancing biodiversity and climate resilience. The provincial government is currently promoting the sloping agriculture land technology (SALT) to boost production and mitigate soil erosion.
“We can plant coffee and cacao to prevent the mountains from eroding. We are talking about resilience and sustainability,” he said.
The governor also mentioned the province’s new approach to agriculture which is treating it as “business” like a private enterprise.
“We have to make it interesting for the new generation by giving it a new face. Agriculture is our business. Agriculture is good business and we want to do that here in the province of Iloilo with your industry – the coconut, cacao, and coffee,” he said.
The 2nd National CoCaNut Congress is being held at the Iloilo Convention Center from November 6-8, 2024 with the theme, "Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture in Changing Climates."
It is spearheaded by the POPA Agriculture Cooperative in collaboration with the Iloilo provincial government, Iloilo City government, Regional Agricultural and Fishery Council (RAFC) VI, and regional line agencies.
Governor Defensor thanked POPA for initiating the discussion and dialogue for the future of the industry.
“In broad terms, I can see very well that the industry is moving faster in the province and city. And we hope that we will emerge out of this congress together with the whole industry with renewed energy and interest and strong motivation for coconut, cacao, and coffee,” Defensor said.
(Capitol News)
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