DAVAO CITY – The Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCCII) hailed Thursday the Department of Agriculture's (DA) declaration of the city as the country’s "cacao capital."
DCCCII president John Carlo Tria noted that after years of promoting the cacao industry, the city has now become Davao Region's pride following the declaration of DA Secretary William Dar in a ceremony held here on Monday.
Tria said the recognition would add value to cacao agri-processing and generate more income for farmers.
“The Department of Agriculture is on the right track as this will help not only the cacao industry but our million coconut farmers that can effectively intercrop cacao in their field and supplement their incomes,” he said.
The city has been a consistent major producer of cacao beans in the region, producing a total of 2,289.74 metric tons from 2015 to 2019.
Tria also lauded the move of the Maritime Industry Authority to establish cold chain facilities in major ports and mandate a discount on agribusiness and food cargo among shipping companies.
“These moves are a great help for many of our agri-producers to help solve the perennial problem of high shipping costs,” he said. “We have always been concerned about this for decades. We hope that these deepen and continue."
Meanwhile, Tria said agribusiness opportunities will form part of this year’s Davao Agri Trade Expo (DATE), which will be conducted online for the first time.
The expo, he said, will feature a series of webinars along with a virtual trade fair that will allow buyers and suppliers to exchange information and trade freely.
Cherrylin Casuga, 2020 DATE chairperson, said: “The online DATE is our response to the need to support agribusinesses activities. We took the courageous effort to push this innovation in the agribusiness sector as we know many will benefit from agribusiness enterprise farmers to buyers looking for a wide array of products.” (PNA)
