CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- An official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Thursday, November 16, said that the government is more focused on ensuring that planted cacao seedlings will be of good quality.
During the opening of the Cacao Luzon Link Congress, DA Undersecretary Evelyn Laviña said that the government is now identifying highly-capable farmers who can ensure that they can grow the plants as beneficiaries of the certified seedlings distributed by the agency.
“Ang government ay hindi na after sa pagpaparami ng cacao plants. Kami ay nagdi-distribute na lamang sa mga farmers na nagko-commit na kaya nilang palakihin para hindi naman masayang ang pera na ginagastos ng gobyerno,” she explained.
To be qualified as beneficiaries, Laviña said that beneficiaries must have land for farming, proper irrigation, and willing to spend for fertilizers.
The beneficiaries must also be willing to attend various seminars on how to properly grow the seedlings and produce high-quality cacao beans.
At present, Laviña said that the DA only accredited 80 farmers in the country who already received around 30,000 seedlings for this year alone.
She stressed that farms of the said beneficiaries will serve as model farms as they are the first to plant certified cacao seedlings in the country.
Laviña said that the cacao farmers are assured of P300,000 income per hectare of land planted with cacao after four years or when the seedling are already bearing.
In return, the beneficiaries must return five times the seedlings they received from the government after five years since they started planting, she added.
“We will be strict in accrediting kasi ang gusto namin ay makapag-produce talaga dahil nakikita nang gobyerno ang potential ng cacao industry dito sa bansa,” Laviña said.
The Cacao Luzon Link Congress is a two-day event being held at the Kingsborough Convention Center here.
As of Thursday, around 800 farmers, cacao plant enthusiasts, government officials and members of the National Cacao Industry Council are participating in the congress.
The topics for discussion include production agronomy, nursery establishment, post-harvest processing, seed preparation and plant propagation, basic soil analysis, pod breaking, fermentation and bean grading, and chocolate-making and tasting.
