The Department of Agriculture will focus on the revitalization of the local cacao industry, through its High Value Crops and Development Program (HVCDP) and other operating units.
“Some of the cacao trees are now being cut because farmers are not making much money from cacao since they do not really know how to process it after harvesting,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu P. Laurel, Jr.
The Secretary added that the Department will include as one of its thrusts the revival of the cacao industry to aid the 74,428 Filipino cacao farmers—as per March 6, 2024 data of the DA-Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA)—through the DA-HVCDP.
The Program’s notable initiatives include the provision of cacao planting materials and farm inputs, conduct of capacity-building initiatives for cacao farmers and extension workers, establishment of cacao technology demonstration sites, distribution of farm machineries and equipment, and construction of irrigation facilities.
The Filipinas Cacao Heritage Reserve is a 13-hectare cacao farmland in Barangay Bunggo with about five hectares of productive area. Since 2022, it has partnered with the Embassy of Israel in the Philippines for the provision of technical assistance. It employs a team of licensed Filipino agriculturists, foresters, agricultural and biosystems engineers, and agri-technicians under the mentorship of Israeli experts in cacao production.
