By Manny Piñol
The worst fear of the country’s coconut industry has happened.
The devastating infestation of the Coconut Scale Insection (CSI) or Cocolisap which has destroyed the P2-B coconut industry of Basilan Island, has spread to mainland Mindanao and is now threatening the country’s Number 1 export commodity.
Yesterday, a Sunday, I took a trip to Zamboanga City and convened a Technical Working Group which I organised a month ago to validate reports of the presence of Cocolisap in Zamboanga City and other parts of Mindanao.
The meeting, held at the Philippine Coconut Authority Experiement Station in San Ramon, Zamboanga City, was attended by officials of the Dept. of Agriculture, PCA, the City Agriculture Office and other support agencies of the DA.
The TWG, led by the Dept. of Agriculture and supported by the Philippine Coconut Authority in the Zamboanga Region, gathered actual pictures of Cocolisap infested coconut trees in at least seven villages of Zamboanga City and the towns of Liloy and Labason in Zamboanga del Norte, some 140 kilometres away from where it was first spotted in mainland Mindanao about two months ago.
While the PCA is not directly under the Dept. of Agriculture, I directed the DA regional offices in Mindanao to take the lead in monitoring and addressing the Cocolisap infestation because it could destroy Philippine agriculture.
The scale insect is found underneath the coconut leaves and the crevices of the trees, gnawing at anything soft.
The coconut water from infected trees also turn sour and the fruits small rendering the trees unproductive in just a few months.
The Coconut Industry covers 3.6-million hectares, roughly 25% of the total agricultural area of the country and is considered the main agricultural activity in 68 out of the 80 provinces in the Philippines.
With the threat of the Cocolisap infestation now, the Philippine coconut industry is facing a bleak future at a time when the world’s health conscious population is turning on the proverbial Tree of Life for organic products like coco sugar, coco water, coco chips, coconut cooking oil and coconut virgin oil.
During the TWG meeting, the PCA admitted that the agency lacked the manpower to effectively address the Cocolisap infestation which has now spread to Sulu and the Zamboanga Peninsula.
The DA has also received reports of Cocolisap presence in Northern Mindanao and in the Caraga Region. These are now being validated.
Yesterday, the TWG agreed on the following:
1. The problem confronting the Coconut Industry is Cocolisap and not malnutrition of the trees as reported earlier. Malnourished trees, however, proved to be most vulnerable to the infestation.
This issue had to addressed because I told the TWG that unless everybody agrees on the nature of the problem devastating the coconut industry, it would be very difficult to come up with a unified action to address it.
2. While the PCA which covers the coconut industry is not directly under the DA, the agriculture department has to take the lead in addressing the problem because of its devastating impact on Philippine agriculture.
The PCA also lacks the manpower to handle the problem while the DA has under it several agencies which could support the effort to address the spread of the Cocolisap, including the Plant Quarantine Service.
3. The DA will establish Quarantine Points for incoming and outgoing vehicles and vessels to and from Zamboanga City and the towns of Liloy and Labason while the PCA will provide the technical support in addressing the infestation.
The transport of coconut seedlings, including oil palm and ornamental palms, to and from Zamboanga City and the towns of Liloy and Labason will now be banned.
4. A community-based awareness and reaction strategy will be handled by the Zamboanga City Agriculture Office and a radio program will be sponsored by the DA to inform people on how to spot the Cocolisap in their coconut trees.
5. The DA will provide the equipment and funding for the massive spraying of biological pest control agents on the affected coconut trees. The biological pest control agent which was developed by a Filipino scientist has been proven effective in the initial operations conducted by the TWG in the Zamboanga City barangays.
The DA committed six power sprayers and hired additional Job Order workers to handle the Quarantine Operations and the monitoring of the presence of Cocolisap in other parts of Region 9.
During the meeting yesterday, I urged members of the different agencies to stop the blaming and finger-pointing and work as one under the leadership of President Rody Duterte who would like to address the concerns of the Filipino farmers and fisherfolk and rural poverty.
With a concerted effort, the Cocolisap infestation could still be addressed and prevented from spreading to other parts of mainland Mindanao.
(Photos show the meeting of the TWG in the PCA Station in San Ramon, Zamboanga City yesterday and the documentation of the Cocolisap infestation in the different villages of Zamboanga City and the towns of Liloy and Labason. Photos by John Pagaduan and the DA/PCA Technical Working Group)
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