Monday, September 24, 2007 Problems on coffee Arabica promotion identified By Jane Cadalig
INSUFFICIENT supply of quality coffee Arabica seedlings and inadequate post-harvest facilities are seen as two of the constraints in the effort to promote the commodity as one of Cordillera’s main source of livelihood.
A technical working group drafting the coffee Arabica development plan said the lack of quality seedlings and insufficient post-harvest facilities for the packing and packaging of the commodity need to be addressed for the program to be successfully implemented.
The Arabica development plan, which starts this year up to 2015, is one of the agriculture sector's key contributions to the government's job generation program.
Line agencies in the region spearheaded by the Department of Agriculture (DA) are planning to develop 40,000 hectares of coffee Arabica plantation by 2015, which is also expected to generate 40,000 jobs.
These agencies would work together to provide assistance -- either financial or technical -- to the program.
Patricio Ananayo, head of DA Agriculture and Marketing Division, said a centralized nursery for the coffee variety would be established at the DA regional office where farmers could buy the seedlings.
The agency would also coordinate with the Benguet State University for the accreditation of these seeds to ensure that planting materials to be distributed pass the standard quality.
Adoption of good agricultural practices would also be encouraged among farmers to help in the production of quality Arabica coffee beans.
The seedlings would be sold to farmers at P10 to P15 each. Coffee Arabica was identified as the major commodity to be developed due to the region's potential to grow quality coffee beans.
A kilo of raw coffee Arabica beans is sold at P130 to P150, Ananayo said.
