Day 3 of the Implementation Support Mission (ISM) 2026, the mission team visited Seedcore Agri Industrial Corporation (SAIC), an anchor firm for the RAPID Growth Project in Region 11.

Founded in 2014, SAIC is now the second top exporter of cacao beans in the Philippines, working closely with local farmers and cooperatives across Mindanao to produce high-quality beans for some of the world’s largest chocolate and cocoa manufacturers.

But their business was not always in the best position to turn a profit.

In the early 2020s, the company was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic amid market volatility. It ultimately culminated in the abandonment of farms by the farmers due to high input prices and the replacement of cacao trees with other crops, such as durian, resulting in low production volumes in 2023-2024. In 2024, price spikes in the global cacao market also posed another challenge for SAIC, leading to severe losses under old contracts.

For any other business, this could have been enough reason to close up shop.

Fortunately for SAIC, they were able to avail an Equity Fund from the RAPID Growth Project through the Small Business Corporation. This allowed their business to stay afloat amid challenges—providing the financial means for continued operations, constructing new facilities and maintaining existing ones, and acquiring new equipment to increase capacity.

During the mission team’s visit to their facility, SAIC President Mr. Roberto Crisostomo and General Manager Semil Tuason shared that they are now expanding into coconut processing and importing agricultural equipment, opening additional revenue streams for their business and creating more opportunities for farmers and their organizations.

Today, SAIC operates two warehouses in Calinan, Davao City, and Sawata, Davao del Norte, supports 3 model farms, and is in partnership with 16 farmer cooperatives - staying on pace for continued growth.