Sustainable Integration of Philippine Smallholder Farmers into the Global Cacao Value Chain

The Sustainable Integration of Philippine Smallholder Farmers into the Global Cocoa Value Chain is a 5-year project that aims to create sustainable income opportunities for smallholder farmers in Davao City, Davao del Sur, North Cotabato, Sarangani Province, and Palawan.

The project capacitates more than 1000 farmers in the region in intercropping existing coconut with cacao farming. This initiative will develop a clear pathway for farmer groups to commercially engage in the global cocoa value chain of Mars and Kennemer Foods International.

With support from Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and partners, the project provides continuous technical training and access to financing for farmers to improve their productivity, providing agriculture-related income opportunities for women and youth, and enhancing the capability of farmers’ cooperatives to operate profitable and sustainable enterprises.

Building on a unique mutually beneficial program developed by Mars and Kennemer Foods, the project provides farmers with constant technical support and long-term financing. It also advocates Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) which sets guidelines on human labor, rights protections, governance, and environment sustainability to ensure that the farmers and worker’s health and wellbeing are also protected.

Moreover, the implementing team engaged industry leaders and experts to conduct trainings in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to increase the farmers’ production. Some components of the GAP training are pruning, fertilization, regular harvesting and sanitation of pod husks to ensure proper maintenance, optimize production for regular harvesting, and decreasing the incidence of pests and diseases in their farms.

The Sustainable Integration of Philippine Smallholder Farmers into the Global Cocoa Value Chain project will contribute to the achievement of SDG 8 by creating sustainable income opportunities for smallholder farmers in the Philippines by developing a more robust and diversified agri-industry based on sourcing from smallholder farmers.