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I take from my travels throughout the Philippines this
past week a few lasting impressions: meeting with
innovative farmers, witnessing practical
applications of Farmer Field School training lessons,
touring well managed nurseries, being offered and
thoroughly enjoying Tableya (the local
traditional cacao drink) by each family household, and
having the opportunity to talk and learn from our
Filipino colleagues rich in cacao heritage.
During my 8-day visit, WCF member the Cocoa
Foundation of the Philippines (CocoaPhil) designed a
complete schedule to visit SUCCESS
Alliance Phase II project activities throughout the
country. From visits to nurseries, budwood gardens,
cocoa farms, and fermentories, to the many meetings
with farmer cooperatives, cocoa clubs and presenting
at a Training Facilitators' Training of Trainers
Graduation Ceremony, my colleagues kept me very
busy traveling throughout Palawan, Brooke's Point,
Davao, Mindanao and Dipolog.
Amongst the many inspiring farmers I met, Mr. Johnny
Silva from Davao encompasses the Filipino
smallholder farmer and the innovations the farmers
develop through the practical lessons learned in the
Farmer Field Schools. Johnny is fairly new to cacao
farming after he and his wife inherited a small farm
from her family two years ago which included cacao
trees intercroppedwith several varieties of fruit trees. He is a Farmer
Field School participant since June 2007 and will
graduate next May.
From the instant you meet Johnny, you will be drawn to
his dedication to farming and his work ethic. As we
walked through his well kept farm, he showed me
countless cacao trees that were grafted with two
clonal varieties, with every pod meticulously sleeved in
plastic to protect it from being attacked by the cocoa pod
borer pest.
Recognizing the good work he is doing to manage his
farm well along with the farming innovations and
fermentation techniques that he is testing, CocoaPhil
will work with him to develop a model smallholder
cacao farm. Throughout this coming year, we look
forward to following Johnny's training and farm
development as he works with CocoaPhil to serve as
a model smallholder cacao farmer.
I would like to extend my gratitude to the CocoaPhil
staff and members (with a special thanks to
Josephine Ramos and Patricia Limpe) for arranging
my itinerary along with my appreciation to the many
stakeholders whom I met during my stay in the
Philippines. Thank you all for your generous
hospitality and our cacao discussions enjoyed over
the many cups of Tableya.
Best wishes from the Philippines,
Tracey
Photo: Johnny Silva with his wife Joy and their two
year old daughter.
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