Program Summary

Cocoa has been cultivated in the Philippines since the 17th century. For a time, the government encouraged cocoa production but industry growth ceased when the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program took effect in 1988 and cocoa estates were divided among plantation workers. Today, the Philippines produces about 5,000 MT of cocoa beans per year, most of which is used by its domestic industry. However, the domestic processing industry requires approximately 32,000 MT of cocoa bean annually, resulting in a 27,000 MT deficit that has to be imported. In addition, there is a serious shortage at the regional level of high-quality cocoa.

In October 2002, ACDI/VOCA received USAID public-private alliance funding to expand the SUCCESS Alliance (Sustainable Cocoa Enterprise Solutions for Smallholders) program to the Philippines. The SUCCESS Alliance promotes cocoa as a sustainable, environmentally friendly income source for farmers through the creation of community-based, diversified agroforestry cropping systems. This approach helps to address sustainable forest management, a major issue in the Philippines, by encouraging the planting of tree crops, such as cocoa, to act as buffer zones for community-based, forest-managed (CBFM) areas. Cocoa is highly adaptable to agroforestry systems and can lessen dependence on timber-based activities, thus protecting forests while still providing for subsistence and livelihood needs for upland dwellers. With the creation of quality standards and the adoption of appropriate pre- and post-harvest practices, Filipino farmers will be able to enter both the domestic and international markets with their improved cocoa. Cocoa also has the potential to be an important source of income for thousands of smallholder Filipino farmers.

During the first phase of the program, from October 2002 to September 2005, ACDI/VOCA focused on the areas of Palawan and northern Luzon to promote improved smallholder cocoa production through the adoption of good crop husbandry and integrated pest management practices. With the development of seed gardens, plant distribution, and training for extensionists and farmers, ACDI/VOCA and its private sector partners trained 5,268 smallholder Filipino farmers in methodologies for increasing their cocoa yield while encouraging the diversification of income sources. The SUCCESS Alliance also strengthened partnerships among local governments, universities, farmer groups and the private sector by finding more efficient uses of resources to support the sustainable, environmentally sound development of the cocoa industry. Moreover, this first phase strengthened cocoa-based farmer groups and associations through workshops, training of local trainers, and increased international collaboration with companies and organizations invested in the cocoa industry.

In October 2006 ACDI/VOCA launched the second phase of the SUCCESS Alliance program, a 3-year, $2.6 million USDA-funded project to improve cocoa production and marketing linkages. The program delivers farmer training and extension, establishes post-harvest processing sites, builds capacity in nursery plant production, rehabilitates old cocoa trees and establishes internationally acceptable cocoa bean quality standards for the Philippines. ACDI/VOCA carries out training and extension activities in six areas: northern and southern Luzon, Panay, Palawan, western Mindanao and Davao. Training includes conducting training-of-trainers sessions for 150 participants. The program also provides farmer training at the provincial level for approximately 15,000 farmers, of whom about 3,000 have already received training under the first phase. Training topics include crop husbandry, integrated pest and disease management, side-grafting, soil health, farm management, post-harvest handling and marketing. The focus is to grow high-quality cocoa and avoid pest infestation, especially by the cocoa pod borer, which has severely affected cocoa-producing countries in Southeast Asia. Some farmers also participate in domestic and international study tours to improve their technical knowledge and skills and to exchange problem-solving mechanisms for overcoming local constraints, such as climatic conditions or the high cost of materials.

In order to build local capacity, SUCCESS Alliance and CocoaPhil will establish 30 fermentation and drying centers by the program's end, with local farmer groups providing labor and land as in-kind contributions. Cocoa centers are placed in central locations where a minimum of 100 farmers will regularly bring their beans. Both farmers and center operators are trained by SUCCESS Alliance field technicians on quality selection to ensure that all beans meet quality standards. New technologies for post-harvest processing of beans will be tested at the sites.

Over the course of SUCCESS Alliance Phase II, approximately 1.12 million plants will be distributed to farmers and approximately 100 nurseries and budwood gardens will be supported for plant production and expansion following the program's end. Nursery space is provided by private entrepreneurs, city agriculture offices and the Philippine Coconut Authority, and every newly trained farmer receives 100 free cocoa seedlings. The SUCCESS Alliance project has already identified the best cocoa varieties and distributed them throughout many islands of the Philippines. Therefore, scaling-up nursery capacity, grafting operations and plant distribution to facilitate successful cocoa adoption is a priority.

SUCCESS Alliance and CocoaPhil are delivering an extension package of cocoa rehabilitation to improve the productivity and quality of 400,000 cocoa trees owned by 800 farmers, primarily in southern and western Mindanao. These farmers take part in regular farmer training and receive extra assistance with side-grafting and pest management from CocoaPhil trainers and SUCCESS Alliance field technicians. SUCCESS Alliance and CocoaPhil have worked with the Philippine Department of Agriculture to review and revise the cocoa bean quality standards established in the mid-1980s. Additionally, SUCCESS Alliance and CocoaPhil have worked with the Philippine Department of Agriculture's Sub-Committee on Cocoa Industry Development to review and update quality standards for cocoa-based products. Participating farmers and fermentation center staff will be taught and encouraged to meet these new criteria. These standards will also be marketed to both local and international buyers to raise awareness of the quality and availability of cocoa from the Philippines. The project is scheduled to conclude activities in August 2009.