Coffee farms rejuvenated

BANSALAN, Davao del Sur -- After years of relentless efforts to revitalize the once dormant coffee plantations in Barangay Balutakay in this town, members of the Balutakay Coffee Farmers Association (Bacofa) are wishing that their coffee will soon find its way to the global market.

Ariel Dubria, member of the board of Bacofa, said that they are doing all they can to crank up the volume of production, which stands at an average of 20 metric tons at present during peak season.

Farmers, in the meantime, will just have to contend with the local market, which commands a good market price for them as the demand resurges.

Dubria takes pride in the quality of their beans, which has all the qualities of a specialty coffee, except that they have to work on improving further the husbandry, harvest, and post-harvest practices to be classified as one.

"Our coffee passed the taste and quality standards of the cupper from Colombia," Dubria said.

The country has a supply shortfall of 70,000-MT a year that it has to import from Vietnam and Indonesia to fill in the supply gap.

Despite the dire lack, farmers make 2,000 MT of specialty coffee out of their 10,000 MT annual production for the "roast and grind," the kind of coffee used at the coffee shops, according to Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (PCBI) co-chairman and president Pacita Juan.

Juan said Mt. Apo has a micro climate that favors the coffee-growing efforts.

Dubria added that the volcanic soil of hinterland Barangay Balutakay, located at the foothills of the country's highest peak Mt. Apo, gives their coffee a distinct flavor and quality, plus their coffee trees are grown at 1,000 meters above sea level, the domain of Arabica coffee plants.

Some 60 growers have planted coffee in Barangay Balutakay with an estimated area of 50 hectares of productive Arabica coffee trees, he said.

One successful coffee farmer is businessman Philip Sonny Dizon, manufacturer of Mt. Apo Civet and Altura Coffee from Barangay Kapatagan, Bansalan, after he won first runner-up in the Syphon category and second runner-up in the Espresson category during the Roaster's Choice Awards last year.

He said they get the most needed technical boost from non-government organizations like Kapwa Upliftment Foundation Inc., Catholic Relief Services, and ACDI-VOCA's Mindanao Productivity for Agricultural Commernce and Trade (MinPACT), an $8-million project that seeks to "increase agricultural productivity and trade in Western and Southern Mindanao.

Dubria said they never missed any chance to get as much technical support from different groups, so they will be able to improve their practices and eventually be able to export their products once their production is sufficient enough.

Among the equipment they received from Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Davao are de-pulper, flotation tank, fermentation tank, solar dryer, weighing scale, moisture meter, and bagger which modernize their coffee production.

Around 70 percent of the country's production came from Davao Region, Bukidnon, and Sulu in Mindanao, but specialty coffee growers who practice “traceability” are in Benguet, Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), Juan said.

She urged farmers to follow the same practice and find a niche in the market.

Bacofa currently sells some of its coffee to Coffee For Peace Inc., Hineleban Foundation Inc., and Monastery of Transfiguration in Bukidnon, which roasts and packs the Monk's Blend. (ALC)

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