TEN Filipino coffee farmers have recently received training grants to expand their knowledge and skills on coffee farming and processing, boost their productivity and help arrest the declining supply of locally grown coffee in the Philippines.
“This training aims to contribute to the local government’s program in improving productivity, product quality and profitability of the country’s coffee farms through a competitive and sustainable value chain from farming to manufacturing,” said Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (PCBI) president Chit Juan.
The Philippine-Indonesia Partnership: Coffee Farmers’ Training Grant, a joint project of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA), the PCBI, Indonesian food and beverage manufacturer PT Mayora Indah Tbk and the Embassy of Indonesia in the Philippines, will provide advanced trainings in the Philippines as well as Indonesia, the fourth largest coffee producer in the world.
Juan added that the vision is to spur coffee bean production of farmers across key provinces in the Philippines such as Benguet, Quezon, Ilocos, Negros, Davao, Bukidnon and Sultan Kudarat.
“Smallholder coffee farmers in these provinces already plant Arabica, Robusta, Liberica and Excelsa coffee beans, but still have the potential of further generating incomes and supporting livelihoods with sustained quality production,” she said.
“Through the educational grant, we hope to help reboot the country’s coffee industry by equipping our coffee farmers with the necessary knowledge, skills and mindset to derive the most economic benefit from their produce,” Juan added.
Through a rigorous selection and vetting process by government and non-profit partners including the DA, Department of Trade and Industry, Philippine Commission on Women, Washington-based Acdi/Voca and PCBI, 10 coffee farmers were chosen to pioneer the training grant.
Farmers who qualified for the grant should own at least a hectare of land planted with coffee, and must have produced at least one metric ton of coffee a year.
The farmers from Luzon were Allan Canam and Catherine Alipit-Canam from Benguet, Ronald Peña (Cavite), Jennifer Rimando (Mt. Province) and Jonecy Tomilas (Nueva Vizcaya).
From Visayas, the farmers chosen were Joy Cañete and Christian Romay both from Negros Occidental.
Representing Mindanao were farmers Kadafhie Butted (Bukidnon), Jocelyn Mamar (Davao del Sur) and Criss Tutanes (Sultan Kudarat).
“I hope that this program will bolster the needs of coffee since one of the purposes of this launch is to increase the production of local Philippine coffee beans to contribute to the development of the local coffee industry. I am optimistic that this program would be a good start and will also open other new opportunities between our nations to get even closer and gain mutual benefits,” said Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Philippines Dr. Sinyo Harry Sarundajang. (PR)