I am not going to make a definitive comment on this article beyond what i know. The only coconut monkeys i have seen are in tourist shows. The showman sends the monkey up the tree. The monkey twists the ripe coconut until it falls and goes to the next ripe coconut to repeat the process. In Khanom, the south of Thailand, there are coconut trees in almost everyone’s yard. Haven’t seen one monkey. With the short trees some people use a long pole with a knife on the end to cut the coconut tether so the coconut falls to the ground. Coconuts have a very hard shell so there is no chance of them cracking open when they fall. But with the taller trees people just wait for the coconuts to fall. Again, never drive under or spend time under a coconut tree. Coconuts are heavy. If one falls on your head there is a very good chance you will be killed. Many times i have come upon coconuts lying in the middle of a road having fallen from a tree.
Trucks drive around every so often and have people put their coconuts aboard for shipment to market. Not sure when and how people get paid for loading their coconuts on the truck. They probably get paid cash right on the spot.
Large coconut groves might use monkeys to harvest the crop but, again, all i have seen are the tourist tricks.