Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The hot chocolate you drink in the morning may soon be coming from Mindanao.
In a piece of good news to Mindanao farmers, the Department of Agrarian Reform said it has linked arms with a major exporter for the growing of high-quality cacao beans, the raw form of chocolate, on farms covered by the agrarian reform program.
Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes said the DAR has entered into a partnership with Kennemer Foods International, Inc. (KFI) to help provide agrarian reform beneficiaries with an additional source of income through the production of export-quality cacao beans.
The “Cacao Contract Growing Program,” he said in a news release, has two objectives: to provide farmer beneficiaries additional income and to gain access to the international market.
In the same news release, KFI President Simon Bakker noted that the Philippines’ annual consumption of cocoa is 30,000 tons, yet production is only about 6,000 tons a year.
“This presents a big opportunity for your ARBs (agrarian reform beneficiaries) especially here in Mindanao where the climate is suitable for cacao growing,” Bakker said.
Cacao trees need a little shade, which makes it an ideal “inter-crop” with coconut.
Under the agreement, KFI will teach and train farmers in the development and scaling of cacao production.
It will also assist the agrarian reform beneficiaries in consolidating their produce through block farms. The block farms comprise agricultural lands belonging to beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
“The agreement ensures the rights of farmer-beneficiaries to retain control and possession of their awarded lands throughout the duration of the three-year project,” said De Los Reyes.
The cacao project, which commenced in June, covers 10,000 hectares of ARB lands in Mindanao.
The DAR will be extending financial assistance through loans to cacao farmers especially the CARP beneficiaries in Mindanao “hopefully by next year,” De Los Reyes said.
“We will provide financial assistance to interested cacao farmers. Each of them is allowed to borrow up to P60,000 per hectare,” he said.