DA: Negrense farmer’s feat a boost to WV cacao industry

NEGROS. Negrense cacao farmer and cocoa producer Christopher Fadriga bags the gold award in the 2021 International Cocoa Awards (ICA) held at Salon du Chocolat in Paris, France recently. (Contributed Photo)
NEGROS. Negrense cacao farmer and cocoa producer Christopher Fadriga bags the gold award in the 2021 International Cocoa Awards (ICA) held at Salon du Chocolat in Paris, France recently. (Contributed Photo)

NEGRENSE cacao farmer Christopher Fadriga recently bagged the gold award in the 2021 International Cocoa Awards (ICA) held at Salon du Chocolat in Paris, France.

For the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas, his achievement is a boost to the region’s cacao industry.

As she lauded the victory of Fadriga, DA-Western Visayas Executive Director Remelyn Recoter said this is a momentous milestone for the cacao industry in the region.

"My warmest congratulations to Mr. Christopher Fadriga as one of the gold awardees of the 2021 Cocoa of Excellence Awards,” Recoter said in a statement.

“The DA Western Visayas applauds your efforts in bringing the Negros cacao to the roster of the best cocoa in the world,” she added.

The DA official stressed that the recognition would also further stimulate the cacao industry in Western Visayas.

Recoter urged the region's cacao growers to persevere and look up to Fadriga's exemplary achievement and farming best practices as the model approach in the pursuit of producing fine quality cocoa products.

Fadriga, of Barangay Atipuluan in Bago City, is one of the three Filipino farmers who earlier made it to the prestigious international awards and joined the roster of best cocoa producers in the world.

DA-Western Visayas said that through its Cocoa Excellence Program, the ICA conferred the “Best 50” from the 235 samples coming from 53 cacao-producing countries globally.

The ICA is a biennial global competition recognizing the achievements of cacao farmers by providing them honor and celebrating the diversity of flavors from different origins in the world, it added.

Fadriga earlier told SunStar Bacolod that the recognition given to cacao beans grown in the province shows that Negrenses can grow world class agricultural crops.

Fadriga, whose specialty is criollo variety, was also earlier chosen as among the four winners by the 2021 Philippine Cacao Quality Award.

The Negresnse cacao farmer and cocoa producer said “our dream is to make Negros Occidental as an heirloom cacao producing province and home of the best tasting chocolates grown by our passionate next generation cacao farmers.”

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