How coconut husks can cut farm costs and rebuild soil

Agroecology operationalizes the circular economy at the field level through recycling, efficiency, diversity, synergy and soil regeneration. In coconut farms in Makilala, Cotabato; Magsaysay, Davao del Sur; and Davao Occidental, the linear economy remains dominant: Farmers sell husks to coir buyers for P0.25 apiece, treating the proceeds as income even as nutrients and other farm resources leave with the husks. A hectare producing 8,000 nuts yields about 3.2 tons of husks a year. The husks contain nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and carbon that would otherwise remain on the farm. The manuscript estimates the nutrient value removed at P8,100 a hectare a year, […]...

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