Kalino, Aklan – to maximize the use of land areas devoted to coconuts, Aklan farmers are now advised to by the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to plant bananas in between the rows of coconut trees.

According to Plevy Raco, PCA-Aklan head, intercropping with bananas will earn extra income for the coconut farmers, even as she disclosed that the price of copra has gone up impressively this period.

"Intercropping coconuts with bananas will also benefit the soil, as the practice will improve the soil’s fertility," Raco said, noting that "there’s nothing to lose, but there´s everything to gain here by also, going bananas."

The practice of intercropping coconut with bananas, according to Raco, was already started in Iloilo province with funding support of Ilongo congressmen representing the districts. The scheme involves the giving out or distribution of 10 banana suckers to each coconut farmer. When the original plants produced fruits already and suckers begin to grow, it will be the turn of farmer-beneficiaries to give ten suckers to other farmers who are also interested to try the scheme.

The suckers, according to Raco, will be provided by the PCA to interested coconut farmers. For Aklan, PCA advises farmers to plant the "saba" banana variety because it is more suited to the soil here.

Intercropping coconuts with banana is just one of PCA´s current programs this year, according to Raco. The PCA is also into Participatory Coconut Planting Project, which involves planting of coconut seedlings by farmers in their own lots and getting paid for it in three tranches – when the seedlings reach a specific growth period, all in all getting a total of P30 per hectare.

Under the program, interested coconut farmers were given until January 31 of this year to plant coconut to gain seedlings in time by Nov. 30, 2008 so it could be stable in growth and around three feet already. However, because many Aklan farmers showed interest in joining the program and with the aim of reaching most farmers all over the province, the PCA deemed it wise to extend the deadline to February 28.

Raco said the demand for coconut at this time is very high, because it is an important component of many usual and emerging industries like virgin coconut oil production, coconut cooking oil mill operations and other related industries.

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