“There is more to coconut than copra. Remember, coconut is dubbed as the tree of life so we can virtually make use of every part of it,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said during his meeting with Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary for Operations Revsee Escobedo at the DepEd office in Pasig City where they discussed  possible collaboration between the two government agencies.

One of the strategies being explored by DA and DepEd is to add nutritious meals like banana cake and coco water in areas with the highest incidents of malnutrition anchored under the virtue of  RA 11037 also known as Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act signed last June 29, 2018 by President Rodrigo Duterte. The Act aims to address the problem of undernutrition among Filipino children in day care centers, kindergarten, and elementary.

Piñol also mentioned the request of coconut farmers to tag coconut water as the official drink in the upcoming Palarong Pambansa, an appeal which initially received a nod from DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones. ### (Carlos Cezar Baldosa, DA-AFID)