Agriculture Business Week

Acknowledging the Philippines as one of the largest coconut producing countries in the world, Julie’s Bakeshops has signed an agreement with the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to come up with a healthy alternative in making bread.

“The recent increase in flour prices has encouraged bakeshops to look for alternatives that result in the same quality that flour provides in baking bread,” George Abando, Julie’s Bakeshops national sales and marketing manager.

“Some bakeshops have adjusted the sizes of their products to make it still affordable to the Filipino consumers. What you have as a result are either more expensive breads of the same size or the smaller breads at the same price,” Abando explained.

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The Philippine Coconut Authority(PCA) has successfully implemented the National Coconut Productivity Program (NCPP). The program consisted of Participatory Coconut Planting Project (PCPP), Salt Fertilization Project (SFP) and Plowable Intercropping Project (PIP) resolves to promote immediate and long-term coconut development to address the decline in coconut production, cope with the increasing and expanding market demand for coconuts here and abroad, and stave off hunger and reduce poverty in coconut farming communities.

Ensuring the program’s success is the vibrant synergy of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the PCA, the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF), local government units (LGUs) and various industry stakeholders, particularly -the coconut farmers. This convergencis in itself historic, concretely demonstrating the industry’s focal place in the development agenda of Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The NCPP marked the biggest mobilization of coconut farmers in the country.

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