A Former Kartero Found Cacao Farming Success in the Philippines

From just 50 cacao trees Grover Rosit, who used to work as a mail man, is now earning around 50 times more than what he used to earn as a government employee.

Have you ever come across these lines that said, “The answer is chocolate, it doesn’t matter what the question is”?   This successful cacao farmer must have believed in the same thing.

His name is Grover Rosit, owner of Rosit Cacao Farms that is located in Baguio, Calinan, Davao City. In September 2016 he was featured by BBC News, Philippines and he shared how his passion and love for farming rewarded him and his family a life of ease and abundance.

Like many other success stories we read about, it all starts out from desiring a better life for their family. Love for family has always been a Filipino trait that’s innate. Grover used to work as a mailman for the Philippine Postal Corporation as a mailman. His salary was nowhere enough to send six children to school even combined with his wife’s wage as a school teacher. He wanted to be able to provide for all their educational needs.

While he worked as a mailman, he took the opportunity to start planting some cacao trees at a small plot that was owned by his wife’s family. He did this during his days off from work and whenever there were holidays. As mentioned previously, Grover only started with 50 trees then it grew to 100 then 200. He said that with just a 3000 peso investment, anyone can start growing cacao trees.

He said that while other trees grown take about seven years before they start bearing fruits, cacao trees only take two years before you start earning. And even with just a hectare of land you can grow cacao trees and be assured of a very good income

This plot grew to having more than 3,000 cacao trees and he also proceeded to buying other farm lands in other locations in the Philippines in order to plant 15,000 more cacao trees.

Because of the growing demand for chocolates worldwide and is forecasted to steadily grow in the years to come, he ended having to quit his job at the post office so he can concentrate in his cacao farming business. It was providing him and his family more income so he did without a second thought. That was probably one of the best decisions he has made in his entire life. Having taken advantage of the global growth of the business in cacao, he managed to gain a huge profit off of it and provided his family their now comfortable life.

Grover Rosit was able to pay for all his children’s education and the proud father boasts of one of them completing a degree out of Medical School. Nothing feels better after toiling on your land to plant trees and see that it bears fruits in many different forms.

Success found in Cacao Farming in the Philippines!

Rosit Cacao Farm now also conducts cacao farming seminars for those who wants to learn more about how to start in this venture.

The cacao business holds a bright future for farmers already growing them. In fact in an article written by Madelaine B. Miraflor January of 2016 for the Manila Bulletin, she related the fact that the Philippines is set to launch the Cacao Challenge in 2020. This initiative of the government via the Department of Agriculture aims to grow the productivity of the cacao industry.

It is forecasted that by 2020, there will be a huge demand for cacao beans and the Philippines used to be one of the biggest suppliers of this product in the export sector. The Cacao Challenge 2020 initiative aims to prepare the country to be ready to supply the demands come the estimated year, with the huge profit to consider that the country will take advantage of from the global market.

It has been foreseen that by 2020 the shortage on cacao around the globe will be about one million in metric ton and that demands for the product can range from 4.7 to 5 million metric ton.

In the effort to meet this forthcoming demand from the cacao industry, the Philippine government set a goal to start producing fermented beans by 100,000 metric ton per year commencing by the year 2020. The target is to grow 58 million trees and have 130,000 farmers working the fields. The boost in the production of cacao is being eyed most especially in Mindanao since this is where approximately 90 percent of the supply of cacao in the country comes from. The 2020 Cacao Challenge is being spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture and Local Government Units.

If you are thinking to invest in business to augment the family income, this is one of the best ventures you can take on. Because there is already a government project underway to support further success of the business, plus a living proof in Grover Rosit who has been reaping the comforts of a good life out of being a cacao farmer.

He added that he never had any prior experience in farming when he started. His parents were not farmers as well. It was really just his love for planting and the hope to be able to have a better income for his family. He did not even think for once that he will be successful.

He said, “Many many times failures are there but it strengthens me, because if you fail you have to do something to overcome the failure.”    

A lot of us want to succeed, but are we doing anything about it? We hope that Grover Rosit’s testimony of success inspired you today and that you’ll share the story to inspire others as well.

This feature is part of iSensey’s series on inspirational stories, real life triumphs after much hardship, of finding better life through hard work and determination. Check out the other stories, one of them may give you the push that will lead you to finally realize the dream of a better life for you and your family.

We wish you success in your ventures.

Source: BBC