About the Course:
The current demand for Cacao production in various processing outputs has increased tremendously over the years. However, our local processing can ill-afford to sustain such demand as our local smallholders cannot compete for a much better-quality produce due to lack of proper technical skills. This deprived them the opportunity to access available institutional local and international market. Cacao beans require explicit grade standards and a multi-step process to achieve the desired bean quality. This multi-step process involves harvesting, pod splitting, fermentation, drying, sorting and grading, and storage.
The course aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills in primary processing of cacao. Having this in mind, the course aims to promote participants’ appreciation on the importance of Cacao as a primary agricultural product both on local and international market. It offers an introduction and overview of these stages with emphasis on the importance of Fermentation and Drying stages in the development of chocolate flavor and aroma. Also, an in-depth look on the table of the Cacao beans grading system based on the Philippines National Standards is discussed along with learning on how to attain these standards so that industry will buy locally produced beans.