Text and Photos by Henrylito D. Tacio
Mention Davao Region — composed of Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, and Davao Occidental — and what comes to mind? In terms of agricultural crops, the region is noted for banana, pomelo, durian, and mangosteen.
In recent years, Davao Region is also known for cacao. It contributes about 80 percent of the total cacao production from Mindanao. Data from the High Value Commercial Crops Development Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed 90 percent of cacao produced in the country comes from Mindanao.
“Aside from banana and durian, we are prioritizing support to cacao industry so that we can position the region as the country’s cacao capital,” said Remelyn R. Recoter, DA regional director in Southern Mindanao.
Unlike abaca and pili nut, which are endemic in the Philippines, cacao is not a native crop of the country. It was first cultivated by the Mayas around the 7th century A.D. They carried the seed north from the tropical Amazon forests to what is now Mexico. In the 16th century, the Spanish planted cacao across South America, into Central America, and onto the Caribbean Islands. In the 17th century, the Dutch transported the cacao to other places around the globe like Java, Sumatra, Sri Lanka, New Guinea, and the Philippines.
“In 1670, Spanish mariner Pedro Bravo de Lagunas planted the first cacao in San Jose, Batangas,” reports The Philippines Recommends for Cacao. After that, cacao growing flourished in various parts of the country – until pod rot wiped out plantations of it.
In the 1950’s, the imposition of Import Control Law resulted in efforts to revive the industry by inter-governmental agencies and by private sector for self-sufficiency and export. By the time the industry was blooming, pod borer infestation surfaced. Control of the disease was quite expensive. As a result, established plantations were again wiped out; others were abandoned.
This particularly happened in Mindanao, where most of the cacao crops were grown. In 1990, about 18,388 hectares were planted to cacao, according to the agriculture department.
By 2006, the area declined to less than 10,000 hectares. During this period, production fell from 9,900 tons to about 5,400 tons, with two-thirds of the production coming from Davao region alone.
As cacao production in the country went down, demand for cacao continued to increase in the world market. “One thing is for sure, There is a shortage of cacao all over the world,” Dante Muyco, vice president of the Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao Inc. (CIDAMI), was quoted as saying by Davao media.
Recent studies have shown the world market needs 3.6 million tons of cocoa every year. The demand is growing annually by 90,000 tons. Most of the productions come from Africa (which supplies 68 percent of the global production). South America provides 14 percent of the total production.
“Though the majority of cacao is consumed in North America and Europe, demand is growing more rapidly in Asia where strong economic growth, particularly in India and China, is resulting in more people being able to afford luxury foodstuffs such as chocolate,” according to a position paper written by Adam Keatts and Christopher Root.
The Philippines contributes a measly 0.16 percent to the global market. It is exporting cacao to the United States, Singapore, New Zealand, and some parts of Europe.
Currently, the country manages to produce from 10,000 to 12,000 metric tons of dried cacao beans. And that’s not even enough to satisfy the local demand of 30,000 metric tons.
“The problem of the (cacao) market is there’s not enough beans,” said Dr. Nicolas K. Richards, who helped revitalized the cacao industry in Mindanao as the chief of party of Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA), an economic development organization that specializes in food security, agribusiness, community development, financial services, and enterprise development.
“This is really a fantastic situation,” said Richards. “It’s getting worse and worse. The world needs more and more (cocoa) beans. Productions (in the Philippines) can’t keep up with (increasing) demand.”
The country’s contribution to the world market was lamentable since the Philippines is ideal for cacao growing. Mindanao, for instance, is best for cacao production – except those areas 1,400 meters above sea level like the higher places in Bukidnon.
Mindanao does not have typhoons and has good rainfall and good soil, Richards explained on why he singled out the country’s second largest island. Although “cacao would grow anywhere in the Philippines,” he added.
Actually, it was as early as 2004 that the country was trying to revive the cacao industry through the Success Alliance program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The problem was projects were implemented in Luzon, according to Valente Turtur, CIDAMI executive director.
In 2007, Davao Region became part of the program. Two years later, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) introduced the so-called CoCoPal (coconut, cocoa, and palayamanan) program.
“Cacao is highly suitable to intercropping and mixed farming systems, and can add more than US$1,500 per hectare of income from 500 mature trees per year,” Richards pointed out.
However, if the country wants to significantly contribute to the current global market of cacao, it has to plant 150,000 hectares more to cacao. That’s according to the government projection.
Davao Region is helping to achieve that. “In just a matter of five years, we were able to double our cacao production,” Turtur said. “From 5,000 metric tons in 2011, it increased to 12,000 metric tons by 2015.”
As such, CIDAMI is urging more farmers to plant cacao in their farms. “Today, when the world is confronted with cacao supply shortage, is the best time for those who are already engaged into it to increase their areas,” Muyco was quoted as saying. (To be continued)
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