5 areas suitable for cacao, coffee production named

ILOILO – Five areas in this province have been identified as “highly suitable” for cacao and coffee growing.

Farmer-partners of the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) in these areas would be provided with cacao and coffee seedlings for planting.

PAO chief Ildefondo Toledo identified the five areas as Dingle and Passi City (for cacao) and Calinog, Janiuay and Maasin (for coffee).

Early this year, the provincial government allotted P10 million for the purchase of cacao (P5 million) and coffee (P5 million) seedlings.

At P49 per seedling, 88,000 cacao seedlings would be bought. On the other hand, at P45 per seedling, 99,000 coffee seedlings would be acquired.

A hectare must be planted with 1,111 seedlings.

The provincial government’s Coffee and Cacao Development Project set the following rules:

* The area must be highly suitable for planting as classified in the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) Suitability Map

* Farmer-partner must be the owner, tenant or lesee of the farm where the cacao/coffee seedlings will be planted.

* Farmer-partner must be willing to provide agricultural inputs like labor, fertilizer, pest and diseases management control, and other cultural management expenses.

* The area must be easily accessible for easy transport of agricultural inputs and have established shade crops like banana, abaca, coconut, and other leguminous crops.

* Farmer-partner must be willing to participate in technical trainings and other capability-building activities, and willing to enter into an agreement (Plant Now, Pay Later Plan) for three years.

A farmer-partner may avail himself of discounts for planting materials as long as the following seedling survival percentages are met:

* 91 percent to 99 percent survival – free planting materials

* 81 percent to 90 percent survival – 70 percent discount

* 61 percent to 70 percent survival – 60 percent discount

* 51 percent to 60 percent survival – 50 percent discount.

The plantations would be regularly checked by PAO.

The Panay Organic Producers Association (POPA) had told the provincial government there was high demand for coffee and cocoa products most especially in Europe.

The country imports some 100,000 metric tons (MT) of coffee beans worth P10 billion annually mainly from Vietnam, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

It also imports around 20,000 MT of cocoa beans from big African cocoa producers (Nigeria, Ivory Coast) costing a yearly average of $42 million.

Farmers in Vietnam, the world’s largest coffee producer with a total of 1.4 million metric tons a year, practice intensive fertilization that can produce at least 30 kilos per hectare. They prune their trees and inspect diseases of individual coffee trees daily.

In contrast, the Philippines produces only 25,000 metric tons of coffee a year.

The Philippines is among the few countries in the world that can grow coffee and cacao with its geographical position around the equator./PN

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