Calbayog City, Samar – “Let us show the local government that we are interested to improve our lives. Here they are showing us that that they have good plans for farmers and processors like us,” Richard Baragenio encouraged his fellow participants. The Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP) has noble plans for the coconut industry and the coconut farming families. Though still in its second year of implementation, capacity-building activities are underway for coconut farmers and food processors.
The ATI RTC 8 conducted the Training on Value-adding for Coconut Products (Farmer-Level) at In-Phase Eco Farm, Brgy. Mawacat, Calbayog City, Samar on June 14-16, 2023. The three-day training aimed to enhance the participants’ skills in the processing of food coconut products specifically the coconut sap or toddy (sweet tuba). By-products from coconut sap include vinegar, wine, sugar, nectar, or honey, to name a few. The participants, however, focused on the processing of coconut vinegar and coconut sugar.
The twenty (20) participants were also taught about Good Manufacturing Practices and Food Safety, Labeling and Packaging, and Pricing of processed coconut products. There was also a lecture on coconut sap tapping and collection of the prized sap or tuba. An experienced coconut tapper or ‘mananggete’ in the barangay and a farm worker of In-Phase Eco Farm gave lectures and actual inflorescence identification and coconut sap collection atop a coconut tree.
Among those talked about during the training is the need for professionalizing coconut tappers to be included in the Coconut Industry Roadmap of Samar Province. There was also a plan for Oquendo, Rizal, Dinagan, Sinidman, Mawacat, Mabini, Mag-Ubay Cooperative (ORSIDMA) of Samar Province to produce coconut vinegar and coconut sugar.
This training was an off-shoot of ATI RTC 8’s Training of Trainers on Value-Adding for Coconut Products conducted last May 22-26, 2023 in support of the government’s Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP) and the Samar Coconut Farmers & Industry Development Program. Samar Province is geared toward the promotion of coconut sap production, and in particular, their priority processed product is coco vinegar.
