Around 80 cacao producers in Guatuso stand out not only for producing healthy and excellent products, but also for doing so with sustainable practices.
Such is the case of Juan Carlos Sibaja and his wife María Elizondo, as well as Elías Cruz and Irene Esquivel, who have improved the income of their families through the cultivation of this grain.
“Our beginning was very difficult and cocoa has allowed us to obtain income to cancel our debts and be able to offer a better education to our children. Now we can dry 500 kilos of cocoa in five days, but before it took us three weeks,” said Sibaja.
The producers recognize that part of their success is due to the practice of family farming, where all the members are involved in the process. They also use solar panels to dry the cocoa, using a dryer.
Its products are sold in chocolates, powdered drinks, sweets and processed in wine. In addition, thanks to the genetic material of the plantations, cocoa is recognized for its excellent aroma.
According to the census conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) during the end of 2017, in the canton of Guatuso there are about 148 hectares of cocoa, distributed in the districts of San Rafael, Katira, Buenavista and Cote. They use local materials, clones and combinations of cocoa.
It is important to be united, they must empower themselves as producers and show their great efforts. They have the best cocoa, they only have to bet on giving it a better added value that allows them to conquer more national and international markets,”
said Ivannia Quesada, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Livestock.
The variety of products offered by these producers will be on sale at El Gustico Costarricense Fair that will take place from April 13th to 15th, 2018, in La Sabana.