DA earmarks P2.5-B for farm-to-market-roads in Sultan Kudarat to boost coffee production
TACURONG CITY (MindaNews / 10 May) – The Department of Agriculture (DA) has allotted P2.5 billion for the construction of farm-to-market roads (FMRs) in Sultan Kudarat province in line with the efforts to boost the country’s coffee production.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the planned infrastructure will improve access and open up vast tracts of remote agricultural lands in the province.
“We have earmarked P2.5 billion for a farm-to-market road network that will provide access to 29,000 hectares of land… that we hope to develop to increase domestic coffee production,” he said in a statement on Saturday
Last October, Tiu Laurel told a gathering of coffee farmers and stakeholders here that the national government would give priority to strengthening the province’s coffee industry.
Sultan Kudarat Gov. Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu said the construction of more FMRs would significantly help improve 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.
Tiu Laurel noted that boosting Sultan Kudarat’s coffee production is part of efforts to reduce the country’s heavy dependence on imported coffee.
Coffee is harvested once annually with peak seasons from November to February. Coffee beans now fetch nearly P300 per kilo, with Nestle Philippines a major buyer.
According to the DA, the Philippines, a net coffee importer, faces a steep climb towards self-sufficiency.
Even if all newly accessible land is planted to coffee, domestic production will likely fall short of demand, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture projecting Philippine coffee imports to rise nearly 10 percent to about 378,000 metric tons, sourced mainly from Vietnam and Indonesia, it said.
Domestic coffee demand continues to surge, driven by a rapidly expanding café culture and rising consumption, now estimated at 3.78 kilograms per person—among the highest in Asia, it added.
Agriculture Undersecretary Jerome Oliveros, who has been designated to oversee the development of coffee and cacao crops, said that Sultan Kudarat is just one of the provinces in Mindanao identified by the DA to help drive self-sufficiency in coffee.
Other areas, such as Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, and Agusan del Sur, will be incorporated into the planned Mindanao Special Reserve Areas for Coffee Industry Development, he added.
Oliveros explained that by clustering these areas, development interventions can be implemented more efficiently and economies of scale can be achieved.
“We need to develop an additional 100,000 hectares to achieve self-sufficiency in coffee,” he said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, seven of the Top 10 coffee-producing provinces in the country are in Mindanao.
Based on 2024 data, Sultan Kudarat was the top coffee producer in the country 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)
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