DAVAO DE ORO UNVEILS FIVE-YEAR SUSTAINABLE CACAO DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

The meticulous planning of the cacao roadmap led by Governor Dorothy “Dotdot” Montejo- Gonzaga which started in 2022 is finally coming to its final stage through its official launching and implementation today, January 15, 2025 at Café Noventa, Nabunturan, Davao de Oro.

The Sustainable Cacao Development Roadmap is a five-year plan which has the main objective to “… strengthen technical, regulatory, and political enabling environments through the development of a roadmap to scale-up and mainstream inclusive, sustainable, and transparent small-scale producer commodity value chain at the provincial level.”, according to the Provincial Agriculture’s Office of Davao de Oro (PAGRO) and is under the Sustainable Farming in Tropical Asian Landscapes (SFITAL) project.

The SFITAL is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development which aims to support small cacao industry players. Davao de Oro was chosen to be the organization’s beneficiary due to its high potential for cacao production. Over the course of three years, the organization along with the Provincial Agriculture’s Office conducted research and collected data most especially from the identified stakeholders through methodological framework and assessment tool;

(1) Participatory data collection, (2) participatory planning and assessment, (3) prioritization and financing, and (4) launching and implementation. These were achieved through seminar workshops all through-out 2024 which was attended by target participants from PAGRO, Provincial Planning and Development Office, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources with their municipal counterparts, farmer organizations/cooperatives, academe, private sectors, and national government.

The plan covers years 2025-2030 with a vision set to 2050. During the implementation and launching, different stakeholders were given chances to give their statements of commitment at the first half of the program followed by the ceremonial signing of commitment to the vision of the roadmap with photo opportunity.

Simultaneously happening is the exhibit of cacao products which are readily displayed around the venue coming from the farmer cooperatives and organizations to showcase the quality of cacao produced in the province. Participants of the event and even outsider are encouraged to purchase the products to support the initiative.

Gov. Dotdot Gonzaga through PAGRO is determined to place Davao de Oro as the leading cacao producers in the region. This roadmap is indeed the blueprint of great things mapped out for the whole province. // Ziyarah Manalo PAO-IPRD

Photos by: Jonie Cadiz PAO-IPRD