TACURONG CITY, Sultan Kudarat (PIA) -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has strengthened its support for cacao farmers in Sultan Kudarat, especially in the management and handling of cacao seedlings. 

DTI Sultan Kudarat Provincial Director Mary Ann Morales said there is a great demand for cacao in the Philippines as it encompasses a broad range of products, ranging from chocolate confectioneries to baking ingredients and bread spreads.

"Hence, they must ensure that the seedlings are planted and taken care of to be able to abundantly bear fruits,” she told cacao farmers and other stakeholders.

Aimed at fostering farmers’ prosperity and elevating the cacao industry in the region, the DTI, through its provincial office in Sultan Kudarat, has exerted efforts to upskill cacao farmers by providing them with technical knowledge and training on “Enhancing Agricultural Production Capacity and Quality, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), and Rejuvenation.”

Morales clarified that the training aimed to teach farmers how to minimize the “mortality rate” of cacao seedlings and ensure their healthy growth through proper management and handling.

“The cacao farmers have a pivotal role in upholding their commitment as beneficiaries and caretakers of these cacao seedlings provided to them," Morales pointed out, prodding them to consistently observe good agricultural practices in farming.

She said farmers adopting good agricultural practices can help boost their cacao production and yields, propel the economic development of communities, and, as a result, elevate their lives as cacao farmers.

Morales emphasized the need for farmers “to be responsible enough to plant the seedlings in fertile soils and ensure that they are growing well to be productive and healthy using the knowledge they acquired from the training.”

To monitor farmers’ adherence to GAP, the DTI, through the Rural Agro-Enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth (RAPID Growth) project, conducted a validation visit to the Lebak Multipurpose Cacao Planters Association at Barangay Basak, Lebak, Sultan Kudarat, to assess how beneficiaries handle their cacao seedlings for production.

Morales explained that the activity was done to ascertain that the beneficiaries have a comprehensive and clear understanding of their training, which will serve as a requirement for the cacao farmer beneficiaries before they can receive the matching grant cacao seedlings.

Such validation activity is a continuing initiative by DTI Sultan Kudarat to monitor and support farmer organizations across the province, she further noted. 

The official also explained the rationale of the “rejuvenation training,” saying that it is intended for those farmers who have existing cacao farms who just wish to invigorate or rehabilitate their plantations.

“Meron kasing farmers [There are farmers] who would want farm expansion, so they are provided with seedlings, while others just want to rejuvenate or rehabilitate, so they are provided with the training as well as tools for them to use,” Morales told the Philippine Information Agency.

The RAPID Growth Project is a six-year investment program funded by the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development in partnership with the DTI that targets equipping agriculture-based enterprises and communities with the necessary tools and knowledge to thrive in the global market.

The project aims to enhance the income of small-time farming households and unemployed individuals  in the province, particularly those who are into producing commodity value chains such as coffee, cacao, and coconut, as well as fruits and nuts, as assisted under the RAPID Growth project.

“Gamitin ang mga natutunan na trainings, pahalagahan ang mga gamit na naibigay, at alagaan ang mga seedlings naibigay,” said Morales, as she urged cacao farmers to “sustain the farms for the future generation” in Sultan Kudarat. 

[Apply to your advantage the training you have learned, appreciate the tools that have been given to you, and take care of the seedlings that have been provided for you to plant and grow.]

She also assured that DTI's efforts through the RAPID Growth project, along with the growing market for value-added cacao products, have presented significant opportunities for socio-economic development in rural areas, improving the productive capacity of farmers, and enhancing the overall cacao industry in Sultan Kudarat and the entire Region 12. (AMB - PIA Sultan Kudarat)