Held last October 20, 2016
Farm certification promotes good agricultural practices which can result to long-term improvements in productivity and improvement in the farmer’s income. Farmers are ensured of a premium price from certified produce that met the quality requirements of the buyers and eventually establishing a long-term relationship with them. In the cacao industry, big cacao processors or manufacturers such as MARS, Ferrero and Hershey have committed that 100% of their supply will be certified by 2020. MARS will source UTZ and Rainforest Alliance-certified cocoa, Hershey will source Rainforest Alliance-certified cocoa and expressed commitment towards Fairtrade. Ferrero plans to source Fairtrade-certified cacao beans as it started a pilot project with Fairtrade certification on 2014 (Michiel Kuita and Yuca Waartsb, 2014).
CIDAMI sees cacao farm certification as one way of accomplishing its mission of bringing positive environmental and socio-economic benefits to farmers from sustainably produced cacao. With this, CIDAMI organized a Farm Certification Seminar for cacao-based cooperatives in the Davao Region. The seminar/workshop aimed to: 1) Inform cacao cooperatives of the importance of farm certification in relation to sustainable cacao production and improving income; 2) Inform cacao cooperatives of the various types of farm certifications; and 3) Inform cacao cooperatives of the basics of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
This seminar was conducted on October 20, 2016 at Lispher Inn, Juna Subdivision, Matina, Davao City and was participated in by 27 cacao farmers from 12 agri-cooperatives/ association/ federation. These 12 groups are:
- Manuel Guianga and Sirib Growers Association (MAGSIGE)
- Federation of Cacao Producers in SOCCSKSARGEN or FECAPS (Maitum Cacao Growers Association & K5 Cacao Growers)
- Subasta Integrated Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative (SIFMPC)
- Calinan Multipurpose Cooperative (CMPC)
- Macabatug Cooperative Federation (MACOFED)
- Rehoboth Association
- Wines Farmers Association
- Apo Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative (AFAMULCO)
- Malabog Integrated Enterprise Development Cooperative (MEIDECO)
- Panipasan Multipurpose Cooperative (PMC)
- Biao Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative (BARBCO)
- Salaysay Upland Farmers Cooperative (SUFA)
Ms. Lourdes Cesar of the Department of Agriculture Region 11- Regulatory Division and Mr. Manny Quisol of ACDI/VOCA served as the resource persons of this seminar. Ms. Lourdes Cesar talked about Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) emphasizing the importance of GAP certification in relation to sustainability of cacao production and improvement of income. Guidelines on Philippine GAP (PhilGAP) certifications were presented during the seminar to give idea to cooperatives on the requirements and scheme of PhilGAP certification.
Mr. Manny Quisol talked on the various types of international farm and product certifications. He emphasized the multi-stakeholder initiative for sustainable cacao production, certification schemes and its benefits, focus areas for certification as well as roles and processes related to certification. Benefits of various farm certifications for various stakeholders was also presented.
Representatives of the cooperatives were pleased to hear that their cooperative can apply for Philippine GAP (PhilGAP) certification for free. Further, the Department of Agriculture offers mentoring to applicants for GAP Certification. It was realized that GAP certification should be the first aim of the cooperatives or farmer groups before applying for international farm certification because application for and granting of international farm certification will be easier once a farm is GAP certified. With this, the participants showed interest and are willing to undergo PhilGAP training which is one of the requirements for farm to be PhilGAP-certified. CIDAMI plans to conduct a GAP training for its cacao-based cooperative members by 2017.
