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Mindanao typhoon victims’ future looks sweet

Cacao crops open up new possibilities
Mindanao typhoon victims’ future looks sweet

A cacao farmer in the town of San Isidro in Davao del Norte province (Photo courtesy of DTI-Davao Region)

Published: September 16, 2014 06:17 AM GMT
Updated: September 15, 2014 07:18 PM GMT

For farmers still recovering from the 2012 Typhoon Bopha, a new crop promises a sweeter future.

After their farms were flattened by a typhoon that killed over 1,000 people in December 2012, farmers in the town of New Bataan in Compostela Valley province have shifted into cacao farming, and are now looking forward to a bountiful harvest.

"This is one step toward total recovery," farmer Vincento Baltazar told ucanews.com. 

Typhoon Bopha, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pablo, was the strongest tropical cyclone to ever hit the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

The storm made landfall as a Category 5 super typhoon with winds of 280 km/h. It caused widespread destruction, leaving thousands homeless.

Almost two years after Bopha, Baltazar and the other cacao farmers in town are expecting to harvest their first crop next year. 

They are currently undergoing training workshops on cocoa production.

The government has announced that it will develop the province of Compostela Valley as the center for cacao production in Mindanao.

Last week, the first ever "Chocolate Festival" was held in Davao City -- a meeting of cacao farmers and agencies involved in the cocoa industry.

The government said 80 percent of the estimated 25,000 metric tons of cacao beans being produced by the Philippines comes from Southern Mindanao, where at least 13,000 hectares of land are planted with cacao. 

The non-profit Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao has been providing technical support and seedlings to the farmers.

Val Turtur, executive director of the association, said the city of Davao is currently exporting processed cocoa products to the United States.

"We are encouraging farmers to plant cacao because it offers them a very good livelihood opportunity," he said.

With industry experts predicting a global shortage of chocolate starting 2020, Turtur said there is an opportunity for local farmers to capitalize on the situation.

The southern Philippines used to produce about 20 percent of the world's cocoa and was known for its high-butterfat beans.

In the 1980s, pests attacked cacao plantations, leading to the fall of the Philippine cacao market.

In recent years, the US-based Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has helped impoverished Filipino farmers bring back the glory days of cacao in the region.

The CRS program provided cacao seedlings to farmers and helped improved infrastructure.

"We're helping small farmers not just increase their yield, but also learn what they can do to make their cacao more marketable," said Marlino Magdadaro, agriculture production coordinator for CRS. 

 

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