26 Million PesosProject to Boost Cacao Production in Davao City

by Alexander D. Lopez

Manila Bulletin

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DAVAO CITY – Cacao production in Davao region recently received support as the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) approved a P26-million enterprise development project aimed to further boost the industry in this city.

image: http://www.mb.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/cacao.jpg

Cacao fruit-bearing tree ( Photo by Uveedzign [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons)

In a statement to the media, PRDP said that the National Project Coordination Office (NPCO) of PRDP has issued a No Objection Letter (NOL) last December 9 which signals the start of the project implementation of the project.

The enterprise project dubbed as Cacao Production and Marketing of Dry-Fermented Beans of Davao City will be implemented by the Subasta Integrated Farmers Multi-purpose Cooperative (SIFMPC) as the lead proponent group through a cluster-type operation.

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The project will be implemented in the areas of Marilog, Baguio, Calinan and Tugbok districts that will benefit around 15 other cooperatives with an estimated 495 members who are cacao farmers.

The enterprise project that will be supervised under the Investments for Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Productivity or I-REAP component of PRDP will help strengthen the existing marketing arrangements between SIFMPC and cacao buyers like Coco Dolce and Filipinas Oro de Cacao for the local market and Askinosie for the export market.

“We are optimistic to jumpstart the first cacao production enterprise project of PRDP with the approval of the business plan of the SIFMPC,” said PRDP national deputy project director Arnel De Mesa.

He added that SIFMPC was able to comply with the requirements of the project including the proposed enhancements to the business plan that aims to focus more on giving support to production for cacao farmers.

De Mesa added that PRDP’s main intervention to the project is to provide support to production that will lessen the cacao farmer’s dependency to traders and consequently enhance their income.

Provision of postharvest facilities to ensure that the cacao production quality meets the required market standard and increase SIFMPC’s production of dried fermented beans will also be ensured by the PRDP.

PRDP will also facilitate the implementation of support infrastructure project to the cacao production in the city.

The regional project advisory board (RPAB) of PRDP has recently approved around P432-million worth of infrastructure projects that will support the cacao production efforts in the region.

Meanwhile, the city council, through the committee on agriculture welcomed the approval of the said project’s implementation.

The expansion of cacao production areas particularly in Paquibato and Marilog districts will benefit mostly the indigenous peoples in the area, said city councilor Marissa Salvador-Abella.

“The P26-million assistance will not just expand production but it will also empower the farmers to compete in the bigger market,” the pointed out, adding that the project will also improve the technology in cacao beans and chocolate production in the city.

Data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) says that as of 2013, cacao bean production in the country was recorded at 4,831 metric tons.

Ninety percent of cacao production in the Philippines comes from Mindanao with Davao region considered as the top producing area.