TACLOBAN CITY, (PNA) –- Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Francis Pangilinan will be in the region on August 21 to join the regional consultation on coconut debris clearing, according to Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) regional manager Jose Pilapil.
Pilapil said that to date, debris clearing has not even reached half of the total estimated fallen coconut trees when typhoon “Yolanda” devastated the region last year.
PCA data showed that around 1.5 million fallen coconut trees were processed out of the more than 13 million trees that were destroyed by typhoon Yolanda.
“The situation is very alarming, thus we need to come-up with a solution that will be tackled during the meeting,” he said.
Pests are feared to thrive among rotten coconut trees that may also serve as threat to the newly-planted ones.