To address concerns on the limited source of quality planting materials, the Department of Agriculture - High Value Crops Development Program (DA-HVCDP) has targeted the establishment of nurseries for coffee and cacao in the province of Palawan. Through the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in MIMAROPA, a Training on Nursery Establishment for Coffee and Cacao was conducted from August 13-15, 2024 at the Convention Center, Brooke’s Point, Palawan.
The three-day training aimed to equip small-scale coconut farmers with the necessary skills to produce good-quality planting materials and to provide them with adequate knowledge on nursery management, establishment, and propagation techniques.
Twenty-four farmers, who are members of the identified farmers’ cooperative and associations, recipients of the nursery inputs from DA-HVCDP, received lectures and participated in hands-on activities during the training. There were also moving exams used as introduction to some of the topics and as tools for assessment. Moreover, the participants were introduced to the Coconut Farmers Industry Development Plan (CFIDP), where concepts of intercropping, the importance of Coconut-Coffee/Cacao Farming System, and the qualities of good planting materials for fruit trees such as coffee and cacao were explained. The proper establishment and management of coffee and cacao nurseries, as well as the nursery accreditation process, were also discussed.
According to James Paul O. Laceste of Oring-Oring Agriculture Cooperative, “CFIDP is a very good and comprehensive program for coconut farmers. Napakaganda po ng training na ito lalo na sa aming mga farmers na talagang gustong magkaroon ng nursery for coffee and cacao. It provides us with additional skills and knowledge lalo na po yung nag hands-on activity. At sana mabigyan po kami ng iba't ibang variety ng cacao at coffee.”
“Talagang maraming bagay ang dapat at kailangang pagtuunan ng atensyon ang pag-aalaga at pagtatanim ng coffee at cacao. Natutuwa ako na nakapag grafting ako ng cacao. Looking forward that we farmers adopt this kind of practices to our respective areas,” Leyneth H. Suan of MACAFALA and Saraza Coconut Association added.
