Pangilinan seeks system to measure coconut farmer support

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan has urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) to establish a clear, evidence-based mechanism to evaluate whether government interventions for coconut farmers are genuinely improving their livelihoods.

Speaking during the DA's pre-budget hearing, Pangilinan said that without measurable outcomes, funds meant to support the coconut industry may not be reaching the farmers who need them most.

“Dapat meron kayong data—maybe yung researchers nyo can look into this—(that) ‘Ok, after giving all of these gumanda ba kita ng ating coconut farmers? Meron bang resulta? (We need data to answer basic questions: After providing all these facilities, did the income of our coconut farmers actually improve? Was there any real result?)” Pangilinan, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, asked. 

“Kasi bakit niyo bibigyan ng mga pasilidad na ito kasi gusto ninyo magkaroon ng value adding ang mga produkto ng ating magsasaka? Sino nakikinabang doon? (Because why are you providing these facilities? Is it because you want value to be added to our farmers’ products? So who is actually benefiting from that?),” he added. 

“Anong saysay ng 600 million kung mahirap pa rin yung magniniyog? Kailangan natin malaman kung yung output natin may resulta sa outcome (What’s the point of allocating P600 million if coconut farmers remain poor? Output is one thing, but we need to know the outcome).”

The senator’s remarks came after the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) reported it had released nearly P700 million worth of post-harvest facilities for coconut farmers.

Pangilinan requested that PHilMech submit a full report on the status and output of the distributed facilities and equipment, stressing that similar accountability will be demanded from other government agencies.

“It has to be focused on the land. Nakatuon sa pangangailangan at magiging resulta sa mga magniniyog, mangingisda, rice farmers, vegetable farmers,” he said, emphasizing that the true beneficiaries of these programs must be the smallholders in the agriculture sector.

Pangilinan likewise highlighted the need to shift from simply reporting numbers of facilities delivered or programs launched, to measuring actual changes in the lives of farmers, especially increases in income and livelihood sustainability.

“Ultimately, this is about our farmers and fisherfolk. We have to ask: What is the impact of our interventions? Have we improved their quality of life?” he said.

He also pointed to examples from neighboring countries such as China, where farmers' income is used as the primary benchmark for evaluating the success of agricultural programs. 

Pangilinan called for the institutionalization of a results-based monitoring and evaluation (RBME) framework, particularly for the use of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund, which holds billions in resources intended to uplift the coconut sector.

He stressed that without transparency and outcome-focused assessments, the risk remains high that well-intentioned interventions could miss their target or be rendered ineffective.

The Philippines is one of the world’s top producers of coconut, yet many of its coconut farmers remain among the country’s poorest. 

The Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act, signed into law on February 26, 2021, was established to provide long-term development support, funded by recovered coco levy assets.