Edgardo Veron Cruz (front row right), Pilipina Shell Foundation, Inc. executive director; Helen Scholey (front row center), biofuels sust...
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| Edgardo Veron Cruz (front row right), Pilipina Shell Foundation, Inc. executive director; Helen Scholey (front row center), biofuels sustainability compliance officer of Shell Oil International and Rolando Jao (front row left), chairman of JNJ Oil Inc. sign the memorandum of agreement for Project COCONUT to be implemented in the 2 pilot sites of Unisan and Agdangan, Quezon. (JOHN BELLO) |
LUCENA CITY – An oleochemical company here has linked arms with Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI) to launch Project Coconut which aims to help farmers of 2 Quezon towns improve their coconut production and set up trainings for livelihood projects.
On Wednesday, JNJ Oil Industries Inc. (JOII) and PSFI have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in launching Project Coconut inside JNJ Oil compound in Bgy. Cotta here. The MOA signing was witnessed by farmers of Unisan and Agdangan, several employees of both companies, other stakeholders and some local media.
Project COCONUT means Collaboration for Coconut Productivity and Nurturing Farmers’ Trade Sustainable Livelihood Program and is a joint effort of JNJ Oil and PSFI to support local communities and for Shell Oil to serve as another step towards energy transition from fossil fuels to cleaner and more affordable energy.
Among the signatories to the MOA were Edgardo Veron Cruz, PSFI executive director, Rolando Jao, chairman of JOII, and Helen Scholey, biofuels sustainability compliance officer of Shell Oil International.
Cruz said Project Coconut is aimed to increase the livelihood opportunities for coconut farmers of the 2 pilot areas in Unisan and Agdangan so they can have sustainable income for their families.
PSFI said that the project it its own initiative in partnership with JNJ group and address the needs of the coconut farmers thru setting up local coconut farmer cooperative, conducting seminars on managing coconut farms to improve their yield, and trainings in processing coconut products such as handicrafts, jewelry and furniture.
According to PSFI, sustainable supply of Coco Methyl Ester can be had from Shell’s purchase of biofuel raw materials from the coconut farmers which insure sustainable livelihood for the latter.
Unisan and Agdangan have been chosen as pilot sites for the project as survey showed that about 50% of coconut farmers rely exclusively on their coconut farms and within the 30-45 day intervals of their harvests, about 86% are operating below minimum wage. It also showed that about 66% are farming below 6 hectares of land and most of them are tenants in the land they farm.
Scholey said after the MOA signing that Project Coconut is an expansion of Shell’s previous initiatives for cleaner energy through biofuels while providing sustainable livelihood to coconut farmers.
“We continue to comply with government regulations regarding biofuels and have actively sought to find the mix that best serves the Philippines,” she told the participants of the brief program.
For Lilibeth Salvador and Anselmo Padilla Jr., both farmer participants of the project, said they are grateful for the project and the additional livelihood opportunity it offers to them as coconut farmers and both hope the project to succeed.
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