“SA CACAO, may forever (In cacao, there’s forever).”
Valentin Turtur, executive director of Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao Inc., made this pronouncement Wednesday, to Negrense farmers during the 1st Negros Occidental Cacao Industry Investment Forum held at Bacolod Pavillon Hotel.
“Try this crop and try also to diversify. This is the answer to the advent of global warming and climate change,” he told the farmers.
Turtur said that farmers should not only stick to one type of crop, and they need an alternative if one crop gets expensive, adding that cacao is not seasonal.
“In terms of job generation, cacao industry is good because it generate jobs permanently,” he said. “Once you plant a cacao tree, you will continue to harvest. Sa cacao, may forever.”
Turtur said planting cacao is also good for the environment since a farmer also needs to plant timber trees, like coconut or banana, for shading as cacao will have good seeds if it is not exposed to sunlight.
rHe added that there’s a stable market for the industry and it is growing.
“This is an emerging crop and the livelihood program is increasing. We have a very good market in India and in China,” he added.
Turtur said they have been going around the country to encourage farmers to plant cacao, and to educate them on cacao production.
“The country is aiming to become one of the best cacao quality (producers) in the world,” he said.
Edwin Banquerigo, assistant director of Department of Trade and Industry-Davao, said that cacao is one of the priority sectors the government is pushing because it can contribute to poverty alleviation and job generation.
Banquerigo, coordinator of National Cacao Industry Cluster, said the development of cacao is being backstopped by a strong market demand.
“Its development is market-driven. It has a strong domestic and export market demand,” he added.
Currently, the country is producing less than a kilo per tree, per year.
“We would like to hit two kilos per tree, per year to make the income better and to increase the viability of the business,” he added.
In the next six years, the industry is hoping to develop 100,000 hectares of cacao plantations expected to produce 100,000 metric tons by 2022.
Moreover, Banquerigo said that 80 percent of cacao in the country is being supplied by Davao. Ten percent is from other regions in Mindanao and the other 10 percent is from Luzon and Visayas.
In Negros Island Region, there are no localities that are “very strong” in cacao since the province is more on sugarcane production, but Banquerigo said
Negros has a good potential for cacao.
“We are encouraging local government units to look into cacao as another industry. If properly managed, it can contribute to alleviating poverty and creation of more jobs,” he added.