Cacao roadmap for Negros ready in Sept

BACOLOD CITY: The Cacao Industry Development Council in Negros Island Region (NIR) will submit its regional roadmap to the Department of Agriculture in September.

Council chairman Juan Musa Jr. said Tuesday they are consolidating the data of the local industry that will be included in the six-year National Cacao Roadmap.

Musa said that with assistance of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist of both Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, they are conducting a mapping of cacao plantations in the region.

The data will include the number of cacao trees planted, varieties, locations, operators, and producers of cacao-based products like tablea and cocoa powder.

At present, less than 100 hectares are devoted to cacao in NIR, including about 10 to 15 hectares of sporadic cacao plantations in Negros Occidental.

Musa added that under the Regional Cacao Roadmap, they aim to develop an additional 1,000 hectares of agricultural land for cacao by 2022.

It will be included in the 40,000 hectares needed across the country to meet the current market demand.

Musa said that for 2017, the DA has allocated about 500,000 cacao seedlings for Region 6, and 350,000 seedlings for Region 7.

The allocations for Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental have yet to be determined. Both provinces will still source their funds and other resources from DA Regions 6 and 7, respectively next year.

Musa said a farmer can generate an income of P10,000 to P200,000 per hectare from a purely cacao plantation. The amount is expected to increase from second to