Davao Oriental plans to plant cacao trees across 15,000 hectares in the province, according to an agriculture official.
Davao Oriental provincial agriculturist Rotchie Ravelo said the plan was to plant three million trees in the expansion area.
Ravelo disclosed the cacao expansion plan during the provincial cacao industry research and development extension consultation, promotion and investment forum in Mati City.
The province also aims to improve tree productivity to increase farmers’ annual income from P80,000 to P90,000 per hectare.
“Davao Oriental has a total of 4,657 hectares planted to cacao or intercropped with coconut and other crops producing 1,771 metric tons of non-fermented beans per year,” Ravelo said.
“However, the number is decreasing since some of these trees are already old and no longer productive as before. Some trees were also cut and planted with other crops,” Ravelo said.
Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang said cacao industry was expected to be the next big thing in the province after coconut.
“We are thankful to the Department of Agriculture in Region XI for providing us 1.6 million cacao planting materials which enabled us to expand our production areas,” Dayanghirang said.
He said the provincial government would level-up cacao farmers from mere producers of beans to cacao processors and sell not just cacao beans but also cacao products such as tablea and processed chocolate which offer premium price.
Dayanghirang said farmers should be familiar with and must observe good agricultural practices in their farms to meet international standards and be more competitive in the global market.
“Our resources are not sufficient but with the support of the national government particularly the DA, we can attain our vision for the cacao industry in the province,” Dayanghirang said.