The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Bohol on Thursday launched the “Summer Buko Fest” as part of the government’s efforts to support local farmers amid low prices of copra.

According to PCA Bohol manager Emiliano Romero, the program is intended to promote to local farmers that they will earn more by selling buko instead of copra.

“Ato ning gihimo to showcase sa mga farmers, sa mga taw na nia g’yuy kwarta sa lubi pinaagi sa butong,” said Emiliano. “Ang butong mahal man g’yud kaysa kopras,” he said.

Emiliano also noted that copra takes a longer period of time to develop before it can be sold.

“Ang butong, seven to eight months pa ang edad mahalin na diri sa opisina og P15 [per piece] pero kung imo ng paabuton og 11 to 12 months, silbi koprason nimo na, mahalin na’g P13.50 ang kilo kuhaan pas gastos sa processing so dako kaayo og deperensya,” he added.

The initiative was launched nationwide through the directive of Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol to promote the use of buko through coconut juice.

According to Romero, farmers can sell their buko at the PCA office.

“Kadtong mga interesado na mga maguuma na interasado mo baligya pwede mo tagaan og lugar diri sa among opisina, kamiy mo baligya. Kadto pung mga interesado mopalit pwede pud mopalit diri,” he said.

Meanwhile, the PCA also launched a “direct copra marketing” initiative which allows farmers to directly sell their copra at the “casa,” a substitute for an oil mill.

“Wa man tay oil mill so diha nalang ta sa casa aron mahatagan sila’g special price. Unsa ng special price? Mahal mahal nan a presyo kaysa uban unya mahatagan sila’g priority sa ilang pag-abot na dili madugay inig diskarga sa mga kopras,” Emiliano said.

Since last year, farmers have been grappling with plummeting copra prices caused by a global supply glut. (RT)