By MELODY M. AGUIBA
MANILA, Philippines – Cacao producers are looking for a counterpart fund for a $5 million Mindanao cacao sustainable agro-forestry program that should aid in raising Philippine output to 100,000 metric tons (MT) of export-quality cacao beans by 2020.
The counterpart fund will be applied for the same sustainable cacao program in Luzon and Visayas.
From the current cacao production of only 6,000 metric tons (MT) yearly, it is not very hard to reach the 2020 production goal.
This is because there are as much as 1.07 million hectares of available coconut areas that can readily be intercropped with cacao of which only 10 percent or 107,000 hectares will be needed to hit the target, according to Cocoa Foundation of the Philippines (CFP) President Edward F. David.
CFP already obtained a $3 to $5 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), along with the ACDI-VOCA (Agricultural Cooperation Development Intl-Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance), for the three-year Mindanao program that started in 2009.
The program called the Success Alliance Philippine Program (SUCCESS) includes development of seed gardens, plant distribution, training of farmers, and facilitating of partnerships with the local government.
However, funding for SUCCESS in Luzon and Visayas is also needed.
"Fortunately, we were still able to get a grant for SUCCESS, but only for Mindanao. We're looking for donors from the national and local government for Luzon and Visayas," said CFP President Edward F. David in a press briefing.
SUCCESS is already on its third phase. It has so far successfully helped in raising Philippines' cacao export by raising the quality of cacao beans through sustainable farming, fermentation techniques, and other post harvest technologies. From a negative export figure in 2001, the country's cacao bean export rose to 95 metric tons (MT) in 2004, rising up to 295 MT in 2009. This is further aimed to rise to 500 to 600 MT in 2011.
Related to this target, CFP is pushing for the establishment of 23 more more cooperative-based, village level fermentation and drying facilities nationwide. That should be on top the three post harvest centers in Davao, Compostela Valley, and Zamboanga that it already established in 2010.
The global market for cacao has been very promising over the last few years with a deficit reaching to 82 million MT as of 2009-2010.
It is important that the Philippines should have a long-term cacao program so that farmers will find stability in planting cacao.
"We have received a premium price of $3,400 per ton for our cacao. Five or six years ago, that was just $3,100 dollars. And most people are saying 'we shouldn't have cut our cacao trees.' This is our usual problem-- if price drops, we cut our trees. We forget that we can plant other things in the area (in order to survive the low prices)," said David.
Farmers also have many options of choosing the cacao variety that they see fit in their business as the CFP already has good, high-yielding varieties and certified seeds. CFP has started promoting the production of more cooking chocolates or tableas.
It has also partnered with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) in Philrice's Palayamanan program where cacao trees are planted with other high value crops along with rice and with the raising of livestock and fish ponds. Some of the farmers under its cacao program are agrarian reform beneficiaries tending small areas of 1 to 1.5 hectares.
