Sultan Kudarat coffee farmers get a boost from EU-funded project
ISULAN, Sultan Kudarat (MindaNews / 18 January) – A European Union-funded project recently assisted two farmer cooperatives in Sultan Kudarat to boost their coffee bean processing and enhance their market foothold.
The Keytodac Coffee Growers Agricultural Cooperative (KCGAC) in Lebak town and the Limulan Sustainable Livelihood Association (LSLA) in neighboring Kalamansig town received assistance worth P20 million and P6.4 million, respectively, under the “Investments for Rural Enterprises and Agricultural and Fisheries Productivity” (I-REAP) program.
The Department of Agriculture’s – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) has been implementing the I-REAP, which is funded under the AF2-EU or the Additional Financing 2 – European Union.
Abdulkadil Ango, DA-PRDP’s I-REAP head for Region 12, said they rolled out the “Green Coffee Beans Consolidation, Processing, and Marketing” as a component project of the I-REAP program in Sultan Kudarat, the country’s major coffee producer.
“The project is designed to help coffee growers move beyond raw bean sales into higher-value and market-ready products,” he said.
It also seeks to improve the consolidation, post-harvest processing, and marketing of coffee produced by the beneficiaries, enabling them to move up the value chain and gain better access to stable, higher-value markets.
By providing coffee farmers access to better processing and marketing systems, the project reduces their reliance on intermediaries and strengthens their bargaining power in the marketplace, Ango said.
The DA-PRDP Regional Project Coordination Office-12, headed by DA-12 director John Pascual, turned over the facilities to LSLA and KCGAC last January 12 and 13, respectively.
Crisanto Pascual, KCGAC president, said they are optimistic the assistance will help farmer-members increase their productivity and income while positioning their cooperative as a competitive rural enterprise.
Sultan Kudarat Gov. Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu earlier said they are looking to further enhance the province’s coffee production.
He stressed the vital role of the coffee industry in his province.
“Coffee is an important industry in our province with at least 20,000 families dependent on coffee growing for their livelihood,” he said.
Sultan Kudarat is a major supplier of coffee beans to beverage and food manufacturer Nestle Philippines, Inc.
Mauricio Alarcon, Nestle Philippines chair and CEO, told a gathering of coffee industry stakeholders in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat in October last year that the company purchased at least 9,000 tons of local coffee during the season.
Eighty percent of that volume was supplied by Sultan Kudarat, he noted.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority released in September 2024 showed Sultan Kudarat as the top coffee producer in the country in 2023 with a volume of 21,442 metric tons (MT), followed by Bukidnon with 9,042 MT, Cavite with 8,190 MT, Davao del Sur with 7,713 MT and Iloilo with 5,736 MT.
Davao de Oro’s coffee production was at 4,346 MT, Maguindanao with 4,269 MT, Batangas with 3,658 MT, Sulu with 3,563 MT, and Basilan with 3,222 MT. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
No comments:
Post a Comment