The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday made an assurance that it will implement various strategies to help farmers boost output and make the country self-sufficient in cacao.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol vowed to help the industry during the first Region III Kakao Konek Congress held at San Fernando, Pampanga.
“Cacao is a popular commodity, so we must take this golden opportunity to enable our farmers and empower them to earn a decent income,” Piñol said.
Under his management, he said the DA will provide the market for all locally grown commodities.
“But we must be mindful of production and demand, let us not over-produce to avoid frustration. We must limit our production depending on the absorption of the market,” Piñol said.
According to Piñol, other crops that are in demand will also be given priority.
“Aside from rice and corn, we expand the production of other crops that are popular among consumers,” he said.
“This will be based on the National Food Consumption Quantification Study,” Piñol added.
He said the DA will also observe a national “color-coded” agri-fishery road map, which will validate what crops are appropriate in a particular are.
“We need to know what crops are suited in a specific location. What grows here may not grow in Batanes,” Piñol said.
The Philippines remains dependent on cocoa imports, as the current cacao output could not meet local demand pegged at 30,000 metric tons (MT).
Farmers are targeting to raise the number of cacao trees in the Philippines to about 50 million trees, which could yield 100,000 MT of cacao beans per year by 2020.
Image credits: DA Photo