The Department of Agriculture expressed its target of strengthening the country’s cacao industry through its High-Value Crops and Development Program (HVCDP).

According to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, the local cacao industry needs to be revitalized to be able to educate farmers on how to maximize the economic and livelihood potential of the said HVC.

“Some of the cacao trees are now being cut because farmers are not making much money from cacao since they do not really know how to process it after harvesting,” he said during his visit to the Filipinas Cacao Heritage Reserve on Tuesday with the Ambassador of Israel to the Philippines Ilan Fluss.

Thus, Laurel said fortifying the cacao industry will be included in the DA’s campaign to aid the 74,428 Filipino cacao farmers through the DA-HVCDP.

“The Program’s notable initiatives include the provision of cacao planting materials and farm inputs, conduct of capacity-building initiatives for cacao farmers and extension workers, establishment of cacao technology demonstration sites, distribution of farm machineries and equipment, and construction of irrigation facilities,” said the DA.

The Filipinas Cacao Heritage Reserve is a 13-hectare cacao farmland in Barangay Bunggo, Calamba, Laguna, with about five hectares of productive area.

It has collaborated with the Embassy of Israel in the Philippines for the provision of technical assistance since 2022 and is working under the mentorship of Israeli experts in cacao production. Moreover, its team is comprised of licensed Filipino agriculturists, foresters, agricultural and biosystems engineers, and agri-technicians.