Kopiko maker PT Mayora Indah Tbk and the Indonesian government will support the training of 10 Filipino coffee farmers to increase their productivity, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The training grant, which is a joint project between Philippine and Indonesian organizations, seeks to expand Filipino coffee farmers’ “knowledge and skills on coffee farming and processing.”
The DA said the training would boost farmers “productivity and help arrest the declining supply of locally grown coffee in the Philippines.”
The Philippine-Indonesia Partnership: Coffee Farmers’ Training Grant is a project by the DA, the Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (PCBI), Indonesian food and beverage manufacturer PT Mayora Indah Tbk and the Embassy of Indonesia in the Philippines.
The training grant “will provide advanced trainings in the Philippines, as well as Indonesia,the fourth-largest coffee producer in the world,” the DA said.
“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 PCBI President Chit Juan.
Juan said the goal of the training grant is to expand bean production across key coffee-producing provinces nationwide, 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,” she added.
The DA said the 10 coffee farmers were selected after a “rigorous selection and vetting process by government and nonprofit partners, including the DA; Department of Trade and Industry; Philippine Commission on Women; Washington, D.C.-based ACDI/VOCA; and PCBI.”
“Farmers who qualified for the grant should own at least a hectare of land planted with coffee, and must have produced at least 1 metric ton [MT] of coffee a year,” it added.
The 10 selected coffee farmers are: Allan Canam and Catherine Alipit-Canam from Benguet; Ronald Peña (Cavite), Jennifer Rimando (Mountain Province); and Jonecy Tomilas (Nueva Vizcaya); Joy Cañete and Christian Romay both from Negros Occidental; 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,” said Dr. Sinyo Harry Sarundajang, ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Philippines.
“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,” he added.
The country’s coffee output in the third quarter fell by 0.34 percent to 5,790 MT from 5,810 MT recorded last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
The PSA attributed the decline to reduced harvesting of berries due to delayed flowering of coffee trees and occurrence of pests.