Emerging cacao industry gets boost from government, NGO’s model farms

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Farmers in Central Luzon who are keen on joining the trend of cacao farming and production, as well as take advantage of the growing market demand for cacao, will now have easy access to quality seeds.

This as the government, in partnership with the non-government organization Kapampangan Development Foundation, has started cacao seedling nurseries and nurseries for other high value fruit trees in its 30 model farms.

Since last year, KDF has started spearheading the innovative agriculture project as part of its livelihood program to develop 30 model farms in Pampanga using high-value crops, chief of them— cacao.

Cacao alone gives the farmer additional P150,000 income to what one can earn from one hectare of coconut, according to KDF.

“Region III (Central Luzon), the Kapampangan region which the KDF serves is a major rice producer. It is our farmers whose farms suffer when typhoons visit us, most recent being Lando. During good weather, the average income per has is 50,000 per year or 25,000 per cropping,” KDF Trustee Sylvia Ordonez said. She added that farmers in Region III should be given other options for the use of their lands where they can earn more, such as high value crops.

And since cacao production is a potential sunrise industry in Luzon, KDF had been keen on promoting the production of cacao seeds.

Upon completion of the project, a cacao seedling nursery and nursery for other high value fruit trees will be established in every KDF model farm. The seedling nursery should at least measure 1,000 sqm. The cacao seedlings will be sold to the cacao farmers of Pampanga and the rest of Region III.

“These will also be the source of cacao and other fruit tree seedlings that will be returned to KDF for selling and distribution to the next set of KDF 30 model farms to help sustain the project,” Ordonez added.

Creating a market

During the last Cacao Regional Council Meeting here, composed of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry officials and stakeholders, it was agreed sectors must immediately help in the marketing of the produce of the 30 KDF model farms.

Both DA and DTI committed to provide common service facilities for the cacao fermentation and processing to be located in Floridablanca where the majority of the KDF model farms are located to be able to handle the eventual production of cacao fruits.

Another critical component of the project is producing quality seedlings through tissue culture. With the help of the Alyansa Agrikultura, Department of Science and Technology and Rotary Clubs, KDF will establish a Tissue Culture facility.

The Rotary Club of Mabalacat was tapped to provide the financial support for the establishment of the Tissue Culture Facility. The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) will assist the KDF technical l y.

Other government support

During the recent Cacao Luzon Link Congress in the City of San Fernando, DA Undersecretary Evelyn Laviña was quoted on saying that the government is now identifying highly-capable farmers who can ensure that they can grow certified seedlings distributed by the agency.

Laviña said that the DA had only so far accredited 80 farmers in the country who already received around 30,000 seedlings for this year alone. She stressed that farms of the said beneficiaries will serve as model farms as they are the first to plant certified cacao seedlings in the country.

Laviña said that the cacao farmers may rake in as much as P300,000 income per hectare of land planted with cacao after four years or when the seedling are already bearing.

Why cacao?

Unlike in Mindanao, cacao is largely an underdeveloped industry in Luzon, particularly in Central Luzon. But the economic potentials for cacao production are great.

The Philippine Statistics Authority listed Davao as the top producing region in the country, contributing 80 percent of the volume. No complete data is available on the cacao industry in the whole of Central Luzon.

The Agribusiness Support Promotion and Investment in Regional Expositions (ASPIRE) project said that cacao production is a part of a one billion US dollar industry in other Asian countries and with a commodity that has no product substitute, opportunities are really good.

Fortunately, the Philippines is among the few countries in the world suitable to grow cacao due to its geographical location.