Coconut farms cleared

Nation

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Posted on April 27, 2014 08:50:04 PM

TACLOBAN CITY -- The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) will send 500 more chain saws to Eastern Visayas as it expands clearing activities to typhoon-ravaged coconut farms in Samar.

“We will buy more chain saws next month to replicate in Samar towns what we have done in the Leyte area. Our mandate is to start full rehabilitation in June, but we have started as early as February,” said PCA Administrator Euclides G. Forbes.

The agency earlier sent 825 chain saws to clear farms in Leyte of toppled trees and other debris from typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) in November last year.

As of last week 208,000 trees have been removed and processed to lumber for the rebuilding of destroyed houses. Massive clearing activities have been ongoing in Tacloban City and the towns of Palo, Tanauan, and Tolosa in Leyte.

The project has hired 400 workers, mostly coconut farmers. The use of new chain saws will be directly supervised by PCA, with each worker earning P70 for the removal of a sheared or uprooted coconut tree.

The PCA reported that 33.82 million coconut trees in Eastern Visayas were affected by the typhoon last year.

Department of Agriculture Regional Executive Director Bernadette F. San Juan said 88 hectares of farms in Leyte will be the pilot area for intercropping and livestock raising.

“Farmers need income while waiting to fully restore their income to pre-Yolanda months, which will take about seven years after replanting,” Ms. San Juan said.

Meanwhile, the International Labor Organization (ILO) will showcase the Sloping Agriculture Land Technology (SALT) in 60 hectares of coconut farms in Leyte.

The pilot sites, each with 10 hectares, are in the towns of Leyte, Palo, Tolosa, Dulag, Sta. Fe and Pastrana. The initiative is expected to benefit 900 coconut farmers.

“This intercropping project responds to the needs of coconut farmers who have to wait for up to seven years to restore their income back to pre-Yolanda months,” said Ma. Cecilia Colarina, ILO field coordinator for Tacloban.

SALT is a form of alley farming in which crops are grown in bands 4-5 meters wide between contoured rows, the Food and Agriculture Organization said.

“The goal is to increase the production of vegetable by establishing a community kitchen for villages. For vegetables that will not be sold in the market, we will introduce food processing techniques,” Ms. Colarina said. -- Sarwell Q. Meniano

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Source: Google Alert - tacloban