The convergence initiative of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Development Project (DA-PRDP) proved to be a game-changer for Kapalong Multipurpose Cooperative.

Despite being hit hard like many businesses during the COVID 19 pandemic, Kapalong Cooperative has managed to continue operations because of the support they received from the different line agencies who were part of the convergence initiative.

Kapalong Cooperative Farm technician Jhey Bolilawa said that it was difficult for them to reach different government agencies before because of absence of linkages.

“We are very thankful that we have this convergence initiative because all of our concerns with regards to cacao farming and beans processing can be addressed by different agencies in one venue. Addressing the problem and identifying solutions are much easier now because there is clear coordination with all stakeholders,” said Bolilawa.

In the midst of the pandemic last year, DA-PRDP turned over the P5.87 million  “Cacao Production and Beans Marketing” enterprise subproject which included the turnover of drying, fermenting, and storage facilities as well other farm inputs to farmer beneficiaries, and technical assistance such as training for cacao rehabilitation.

Dried cacao beans sold to Kapalong Coop by its member. (Phot by Joy M. Montecalvo)

According to Daniel Pacheco, general manager of Kapalong Cooperative, during the last quarter of 2020, right after the PRDP subproject was turned over to them, they had already reached full operation.

“We ended on a positive note last year because in a span of three months after the turnover in September, there was already an increase in our beans production. Currently, we are now exploring tablea processing and hopefully we can have our own chocolate processing for the local market,” said Pacheco.

Tablea product of Kapalong Cooperative. The label for the packaging will be provided by DTI. (Photo by Joy M. Montecalvo)

The establishment of “cacao doctors” in every association under the Kapalong Cooperative also helped in the transfer of new technologies with regards to cacao farming. They also gave incentives to farmer consolidators who are assigned in their buying stations which serve as an additional income for them.

“Consolidation of our cacao beans has a big impact on our farmers because Kapalong Cooperative is the one that collects the beans directly from their farms. All they need to do is harvest their cacao. If they also have other requests, they can go directly to Kapalong Coop and we are the one who taps the concerned agency for assistance, ” said Bolilawa.

Aside from DA-PRDP, they also received support and assistance from the Local Government Unit of Kapalong, Province of Davao del Norte, DA, DTI, DOST, and ACDI VOCA.

DA-PRDP through its I-PLAN Component regularly conducted stakeholder’s consultation for its convergence activity. Recently, they are conducting inter-agency support to proponent groups under the enterprise or I-REAP component. (Joy M. Montecalvo)