Published April 19, 2021, 6:00 AM Farmers’ groups do not expect the Philippine government to deliver anytime soon the machineries urgently needed to develop the coconut sector even with the passage of the Republic Act (RA) 11524, also known as the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act or Coco Levy Act.
In a text exchange, Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) Secretary-General and Peasant Sector Representative Leonardo Q. Montemayor said with the passage of RA 11524, the government must now work double to respond to the needs of the coconut farmers.
(MB FILE, Keith Bacongco) But at the same time, he is not keeping his hopes high about farmers receiving anytime soon the mechanization support that will be funded through the coco levy fund, which is the tax collected from coconut farmers during the Marcos administration.