By Paulo Loreto Lim

While speaking with reporters over the weekend, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary for Planning and Policy Rosemarie Edillon said there is a growing global demand for coffee and cacao and called for increased domestic production in order to provide enough for export.

“The markets are there, [especially] with respect to coffee and cacao,” she explained. “Our problem is being able to produce the volume that they need.”

“The Philippines needs to build up integrated industries that would generate higher value addition,” the NEDA official added.

Recently, the Iloilo provincial governments and the Antique Cacao Association put forth initiatives targeting coffee and cacao production specifically.

Back in January, the Iloilo Provincial Agriculture Office announced an incentive program for cacao and coffee planters through a “plant now, pay later” scheme.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, the Antique Cacao Association encouraged more local cacao production in order to provide resources for producers of local tablea and native chocolates./PLL, WDJ