The Department of Agriculture (DA) has announced its partnership with Nestlé Philippines to scale up the coffee industry through a collaboration that will focus on boosting local production and increasing the country’s sufficiency level which currently stands at only 15 percent.
In support of the coffee sector, it is proposing the establishment of a coffee center in Sultan Kudarat and conducting research on balanced fertilization. No additional details were provided on the planned coffee center or research as of writing.
“As joint actions between the government and the private sector firm up, 1,000 kilogram-per-hectare coffee yield is forecasted, especially with the interventions provided by DA and Nestlé such as training and distribution of quality planting materials,” the DA said in a statement.
Nestlé Philippines urged the DA to include sustainability in coffee production while working closely with farmers to ensure high-quality coffee beans.
They also met to discuss ways to uplift the sector, starting with full support for implementing the 2021-2025 coffee industry roadmap.
The five-year blueprint provides a clear direction to enhance farmers’ technical capability and skills, toward increased yields and better incomes.
Under the strategy, the government will increase the local supply from farmers to boost production for use in manufacturing and out-of-home consumption.
It will also establish a database containing vital information such as volume of production and current buying price that may be accessed by stakeholders.
Nestlé Philippines said a greater public investment is also crucial to revive and sustain the sector that has declined by 3.5 percent every year for the past 10 years.
For this year, the DA set aside P84.15 million for the development of the coffee industry. Of the amount, P30.37 million was earmarked for the rehabilitation of 486,450 old trees while P10.56 million will be used to acquire planting materials for distribution to local growers.
Also, the DA allotted P7.79 million for the maintenance of production facilities in DA stations and the remaining P5.84 million for research and development.
Despite robust consumption, the country only supplies 15 percent of the local coffee requirements.
According to the DA, Mindanao accounts for 83.63 percent of the total coffee output, followed by Luzon with 9.18 percent and Visayas with 7.2 percent.
Domestic coffee output has been declining, with the second quarter production this year decreasing by 7.1 percent to 5,446.84 metric tons from 5,866.16 MT a year prior.