Boosting cacao production yields sweet results for choco industry

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ strategic location and favorable soil and climatic conditions make the country the best option for planting cacao. However, cacao production in the country does not meet the growing demand as most cacao growers are not using high quality planting materials.

The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) currently addresses this challenge by promoting the use of high quality and high yielding cacao varieties (HYV) in nurseries and plantations, rehabilitating unproductive plantations, and utilizing cacao pods or postharvest wastes as green energy source.

Under the program, DOST-PCAARRD, in partnership with DOST-Region 9 and Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology (DOSCST), established six community-based nurseries and budwood gardens in Zamboanga del Sur and Mati, Davao Oriental to produce high quality cacao planting materials.

About 15 hectares of unproductive cacao plantations in Mati, Davao Oriental were already rehabilitated and have improved cacao bean yield from one kilogram per tree to 1.5 kg per tree through “chupon” grafting and organic fertilizer application, specifically vermicast.

On the other hand, efforts through the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) are also ongoing to put pod husk into good use by converting it into briquettes as a potential source of alternative energy.

The technology is being pilot tested and training is underway to facilitate characterization of physical and chemical properties as well as the financial viability of the product.

The Department of Agriculture  is allotting P49 million this year to rehabilitate and boost cacao production in  Davao in line with efforts to keep the region’s position as the leading producer of quality cacao beans in the country.

According to the DA, the rehabilitation of senile cacao trees and plantations is one of the strategies to address the decline in cacao output.

Of the total budget, P42 million will be used to fund the purchase of fertilizers while the balance will go to the acquisition of agricultural equipment.

“The DA will offer rehabilitation for cacao areas that already exist for at least 10 years which include a package technical assistance and training and provision of pruning equipment and fertilizers,” DA-High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) coordinator Melani Provido said.

The DA-HVCDP also tapped industry experts from the Kennemer Foods International Inc., the country’s leading buyer of cacao beans for domestic and export markets, to establish techno-demo sites for cacao rehabilitation.

The rehabilitation process will involve the identification of old trees, formative pruning on cacao trees, execution of chupon grafting or side grafting using selected scion or budstick, and fertilizer application using the recommended rate of cacao experts.

The world market has projected that cacao would be in demand for the production of cocoa butter and chocolate in the next five years.

It is also predicted that there would be a global shortage of one million metric tons (MT) of cacao by 2020.

In the Philippines alone, current production is not enough to meet the local demand of 30,000 MT yearly.