Coffee farm to rise in ‘basi’ capital of Ilocos

PIDDIG, Ilocos Norte—Coffee will soon be brewing in this province’s basi (sugarcane wine) capital.

An upland area of Piddig covered with pine trees will soon become home to a proposed 1,000-hectare arabica coffee plantation that is expected to boost tourism and exports in the country.

Pierre Yves Cote, director of Rocky Mountain Arabica Coffee Co. (RMACC), a leading producer and exporter of arabica coffee in the Philippines, said his company would put up a modern eco-friendly coffee plantation and milling center here.

In 2009, RMACC launched its first coffee plantation in Tuba, Benguet. Now, it maintains 20 plantations all over the country.

RMACC has been supplying quality grade coffee to at least 200 supermarkets and 150 hotels and restaurants in the Philippines, Canada and the United States.

Cote said at least 85 percent of coffee supply in the Philippines, or 138 million kilograms worth P6 billion, is imported from Vietnam every year.

“The Philippines is producing only 20 million kilograms, so it is making Vietnam farmers very rich while our farmers remain poor. This is totally unacceptable. So, we are inviting local investors to have a share of the pie. We can share our technology, our modern plantation and milling technology,” he said.

Piddig Mayor Eduardo Guillen said the local government is eyeing at least 1,000 hectares of forest land in Sitio Lammin as site of the coffee plantation. The officials hopes that the project will create jobs and business opportunities for residents.

Lammin is part of an ancestral domain of the Isneg.

Cote said the plantation could generate at least 5,000 jobs, excluding part-time jobs during the peak seasons of planting, harvesting, grading and processing of coffee.

Since coffee grows well under the shade of trees, Cote assured residents that no tree would be cut once the project is implemented.

Guillen said that he is confident that the local government of Carasi and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) would support RMACC and Piddig in the project.

Piddig is 18 kilometers from the Laoag International Airport in the capital Laoag City. The project site is about 16 kilometers from the Piddig town proper.

“This makes the mineral-rich soil very good for investment because of its proximity to the Laoag airport,” said Cote, citing the good access road and high elevation suited for coffee trees.

The project needs an initial capital of P12 million for the propagation of seedlings, labor and organic fertilizer within the next two months.

The initial planting is scheduled at the onset of the rainy season in 2014.