WILL Southern Mindanao’s cocoa industry be another major dollar-earner for the country?
Nic Richards of the global non-profit development agency Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA) thinks so just like most of the more than 150 participants in last Thursday’s “Philippine Cocoa Development and Investment Forum” at the Davao Waterfront Hotel.
“Mindanao dominates Philippine cocoa production,” said Richards, citing Davao City and Davao del Sur as the biggest producers, and Mindanao’s fertile soil and favorable climate offering a huge scope for expansion.
ADCI/VOCA’s assessment of the industry’s current inputs supply, infrastructure, planting needs and farming resources for increased production indicated the need for the replanting of existing cocoa stand of 5.5 million trees this year.
ADCI/VOCA’s “green paper” also estimates that a total of 63,626,996 trees by 2020 at 30% replanting per year beginning 2010 can be achieved.
“This is the Philippine “Cocoa Challenge 2020, ” said Richards as he urged industry stakeholders to put their acts together to establish a highly-productive and sustainable Philippine cocoa industry.
Ms. Charita P. Fuentespina of Davao City’s Golden Sunset Farms waxed optimistically that “Davao farmers can do it” as she narrated her initial success as a cacao producer.
Other industry players expressed optimism that Mindanao will become a major producer of the “brown gold” where increasing demand worldwide is outstripping traditional sources, such as the Ivory Coast and Ghana.
ADCI/VOCA identifies a dearth of quality planting and grafting materials, lack of grafting expertise, lack of credit facilities and post-harvest technology and lack of leadership as among the issues that will have to be hurdled if a robust Philippine cacao industry will be established. [Eli Racho Lamsen Jnr.]
