Cacao industry gets a lift in R&D

8 August 2008
Miko Jazmine J. Mojica

Now that the coffee industry in the country has been revived, the local cacao industry is waiting for the much needed boost for it to become competitive in the local and international markets for cacao's famous by-product-cocoa.

According to the cacao industry situationer posted by the High-Value Commercial Crops (HVCC) Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the industry took off in the 1980s particularly in Mindanao, as more investments were poured on commercial farms and on grinding facilities before cacao production dwindled in the 1990s.

In order to renew the interest of farmers and stakeholders in planting cacao, the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) hosted a consultation meeting with the private sector and DA units concerned in crop research and development (R&D). The meeting was held on 8 August 2008 to discuss the status of the cacao industry in the country and explore possible areas of collaboration.

At the meeting, Jenny Remoquillo of DA GMA-HVCC Program said that cacao is now part of the commodities prioritized by HVCC because of its market potential and the thrust of the program to shift to other commodities that will help start new industries.

The meeting was highlighted by the presentation of Josephine Ramos, field operations manager, Cocoa Foundation Philippines, Inc. (CocoaPhil), on the proposed strategic action plan on the Philippines Cacao Roadmap.

"The plan is to intercrop at least 50 million cacao trees with coconut, thereby producing at least 100,000 metric tons of export-quality cacao beans. If this happens, a P60,000 to P80,000 additional annual income per hectare can be gained from cacao harvest. This is definitely a big opportunity for families in rural areas," said Ms. Ramos.

To realize this goal, CocoaPhil is seeking to collaborate with DA to empower the farmers to plunge into cacao farming by making good quality planting materials accessible to them as well giving them assistance to learn proper crop management up to postharvest to ensure that our cacao would meet the quality standards required by the market. Moreover, market linkage and applicable credit schemes are seen as critical in establishing the industry where small farmers would benefit from.

"We also need to establish the Philippine National Standard for this crop and complement a continuous R&D for the package of technology and varietal development. I'm glad that we had this meeting at DA-BAR as we can now design a comprehensive R&D program for cacao," said Ramos.

The research managers and representatives from DA's Regional Integrated Agricultural Research Centers (RIARCs) and Agricultural Experiment Stations presented in the meeting giving brief status reports on the cacao production in their respective areas such as in Southern Mindanao, MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Southern Tagalog.

The biggest cacao-producing area in the country is Southern Mindanao, particularly Davao, followed by CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), particularly Quezon and Cavite.

Recognizing the potential of the industry's growth in the region, BAR is funding its Integrated RD&E Program for Cacao from 2008 to 2012, implemented by the Southern Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Research Center (SMIARC). Cooperating agencies from different sectors in this project includes the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), University of Southern Eastern Philippines (USEP), provincial local government units (PLGUs), and CocoaPhil and its partner organization, Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA).

According to Ramos, the Criollo is the most sought-after and expensive variety of cacao because of its quality and rarity. The variety, which can be found only in Ecuador and the Philippines, is also known as "porcelana cacao" because of its seed's white color. Criollo is now rarely found in the country because it is highly susceptible to pests and diseases.

"I believe that if we could establish a strong R&D program and develop our standards, we could proliferate this variety and cash in from this definite competitive advantage," said Ramos.

BAR Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar expressed the bureau's enthusiasm to support the revival of the cacao industry in the country. He said that he will seek the involvement of other concerned agencies from the different stakeholders of the bureau to integrate all R&D efforts for cacao. "We could also look into the opportunity of growing cacao organically as this will appeal to the market better and look for ways to use the wastage from its postharvest to maximize our gains from the crop," said Director Eleazar