THE Department of Agriculture-Davao Region (DA-Davao) is eyeing to increase its budget for the region’s coffee industry to P10 million next year, prioritizing coffee plantations’ expansion and production, among other projects.
DA-Davao industrial crops focal John Paul Matuginas said the budget will include 50 to 100 hectare expansion of coffee plantations specifically in Davao de Oro, Davao del Sur, and in Davao Oriental.
The budget will also cover assistance in giving fertilizer, training, and planting materials to farmers.
This year’s budget was only P1 million for Davao Region, which was allocated for conducting training for coffee farmers.
“We are proposing for 2024 nga mas modako na ang budget... mao na siya’ng atong ginatutukan pa para mas makuan nato ang demand sa production (We are proposing to increase the budget for 2024, with a focus on meeting the increasing demand for production),” the focal person added.
Balutakay Coffee Farmers Association (BACOFA) president and coffee farmer Rogelio Gonzalez said farmers had already exported their coffee products to other countries such as Japan and in the United States, which are “known for its good quality”.
However, there is still a need to improve their quantity of production, and they need to adapt to the weather patterns.
“As to the production sa kape, last year gamay lang gyud kaayo ang harvest tungod sa kataas sa rainfall na niaging tuig, pero sa pagkakaron [na year] expect ta na magdaghan ang kape karon na year (the harvest was significantly reduced due to high rainfall, however, this year we are expecting an increase in coffee production),” Gonzalez said.
“Pero kung [surplus], wala gyud, shortage gyud, permente jud na base sa atong data sa Pilipinas ug sa global na data, kulang jud kaayo ang production sa kape (we have a coffee production shortage in the country, in comparison with the world’s production),” he added.
In response, Matuginas assured Davao coffee farmers that they are “prioritizing” the coffee industry as one of the high-value products in the region. ICE