A cacao grower and tablea maker from Butuan made a mark at the Kakao Konek 2019 after his tablea was chosen as one of the winners in the Top Five Best Tablea Drink contest.

Restituto Asube, Chairman of the Taguibo Coconut Farmers’ Association was among the region’s delegates to the Kakao Konek in Davao City on October 17 & 18. He has been into cacao farming since February 2016 and started to engage in tablea making last year. He also practices fermentation of his cacao beans for better quality.

“You earn more if you process your produce that is why I process my cacao beans into tablea,” Asube said.

Asube’s tablea was chosen among 38 other entries from all over the country.

The contest was among the highlight of activities at the biggest event of the cacao and chocolate industry. The tablea drink contest was open to all local tablea makers in the country who have not won any international awards. Participants were required to submit ½ kilo of 100% dark chocolate (tablea) which was prepared into tablea drink by a technical team during the contest. Chocolate and tablea experts served as judges of the contest. 

The Kakao Konek is an annual event wherein cacao and chocolate industry stakeholders converge to get updates on cacao production and processing technologies and strategies. The event also serves as a venue for market matching among the cacao value chain key players.

Cacao Industry Development Authority of Mindanao Inc. Chairman Valente Turtur said that cacao growers should aim for 2 kg/tree/year production. He added that high productivity starts with using quality seedlings. He also cited the importance of producing quality beans and cocoa products to help boost the country’s cacao industry.

As per data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country’s cacao bean production in 2018 was 7,983 MT with Caraga producing 114.49 MT. Under the 2022 Cacao Challenge, the goal is to produce 100,000 MT of fermented beans by the year 2022 for the domestic and international market.

In Caraga, the Department of Agriculture continues to provide interventions to cacao farmers including planting materials, fertilizers, postharvest machineries, and technical assistance. (vpsanchez)