Zamboanga co-op wins PRDP financing for cacao program
SINDANGAN, Zamboanga del Norte has won approval from the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) for its P32-million proposal for a cacao development program.
“The proposed project is in line with the province’s provincial commodity investment plan which listed cacao as an emerging commodity in the province and sees it a vehicle to combat poverty and attain inclusive growth not only the traders but the farmers as well,” Cerenio T. Tila, PRDP-Mindanao planning head, said in a statement.
The proposal was submitted by the Sindangan Facoma Community Multipurpose Cooperative after government agencies in Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) signed a memorandum of agreement in support of the project.
Sindangan, with a population of about 100,000 based on the 2015 census, is classified as a first class municipality, and ranks 7th in the country in terms of cacao production. The province currently has some 225 hectares planted to cacao and has an annual output of about 70 metric tons.
Perla V. Bermudez, vice-chair of the cooperative, said the cacao expansion project is intended to help the economy of not just Sindangan, but the province as a whole.
“The objective of the cacao project is improving the lives of our farmers that is why we became interested in this project,” said Ms. Bermudez.
A member of the cooperative, retired government employee Isabelo Paculanang, said the project will also help farmers change their “wait-and-see” attitude in terms of government- funding because the cacao program provides that the members market the produce themselves.
“We are made to understand that there is a big, global market for cacao. So when you are able to produce cacao, it should be a viable venture that would help farmers,” Mr. Paculanang said.
The cooperative will also acquire post-harvest facilities, including a warehouse, to ensure that the harvest is maximized.
PRDP is a World Bank-funded project that is being implemented with the Department of Agriculture as lead agency.