An agriculture road map like no other
The cacao roadmap (2026-2030) is unlike any other road map that exists today. The Department of Agriculture now has twenty commodity road maps (2020-2025), some of which are being updated. They should follow the recent cacao road map formulation process. This way, they will become actual guides for action, rather than lying on a shelf largely unused.
Previous road maps had the private sector consulted, but not deeply involved. For cacao, the private sector took the lead in road map formulation, including the choice of consultants.
Most importantly, public-private commitments were made in each region for seven specific work priorities. This was headed by the private Philippine Cacao Industry Association under its president Armi Garcia, with the support of the public-private Philippine Cacao Industry Council. It was helped by Undersecretary Philip Young, with guidance from Sec. Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
Two initiatives
With the theme “One voice, one cacao family, one Philippine brand,” this road map had three objectives: improved productivity, export competitiveness and sustainable growth.
It focuses on two key initiatives. The first is clustering. Economies of scale are absolutely necessary for global competition. This is emphasized by Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, corporations like Del Monte and outstanding agri-entrepreneurs like Danny Fausto (who clusters carabao owners so that high-quality milk can be delivered in scale).
The second is intercropping. An initial P60,000 investment for intercropping cacao between coconut trees in a hectare has a payback of three years and a 55- to 100-percent return on investment. The annual net income of P105,000 continues for five years onwards. This adds more than five times the current P20,000 net income for a coconut hectare without intercropping.
Current situation
We currently produce 11,000 metric tons of cacao, 80 percent of which comes from Mindanao. Our average production is 0.8 kg per plant. This can easily become 2.5 kg with the right agriculture practices.
We can also produce the best cacao. This is proven because the Philippines was cited as producing the “Top 50 best cacao beans in the World” by the Cacao of Excellence International Awards. For the last eight years, we have been competing with 200 entries.
The table shows the increasing opportunities for our cacao.
To take advantage of these opportunities, consultations were made nationwide, which were not done in this systematic way before. They involved key stakeholders across the cacao value chain, including government agencies, academic institutions, private sector partners, farmers and industry organizations. Most importantly, participants from each region made quantitative commitments for specific items in seven key areas for each of the five years.
Seven areas
• Cacao production: Database, clustering, intercropping, soil and climate suitability and fermented cacao beans.
• Nurseries: New mother plants in new nurseries, planting materials distribution.
• Production system: Seedlings, irrigation/water management, nutrients and fertilization (organic and nonorganic), crop protection, maintenance and rehabilitation, harvest and post-harvest measures.
• Product development and diversification: Product improvement, quality and certification.
• Research and development: Varietal improvement, nutrient management, pest control, harvest and postharvest strategies, product development and social, economic and market factors.
• Marketing: Marketing systems flow, quality control, domestic supply, international markets.
• Funding: Investments, financing, facilities and local government units.
The unprecedented unique features of the coconut road map listed here should be considered for other road maps. It will be a significant step towards the agriculture transformation we need today.
The author is Agriwatch chair, former secretary of presidential flagship programs and projects and former under secretary of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry. Contact is [email protected]
