DA commits to invest more in coffee sector

MANILA, Philippines - With domestic demand for coffee growing at the rate of three to five percent annually, the country has to continue importing more bean since local production is hard pressed in meeting it.

Because of this, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala told participants in the recently concluded 4th National Coffee Summit held at the Asian Institute of Management that DA will invest a significant portion of its talents, financial resources and other inputs to secure the best possible future for the local coffee industry.

He said the department’s objectives are: to attain self sufficiency within the medium term; to make coffee farming more profitable for coffee farmers and to have a significant export of specialty coffee beans.

In a speech read for him by DA Undersecretary Berna Puyat-Romulo, Alcala said coffee remains a major pillar of the agriculture sector with farmers harvesting over 954,500 metric tons of berries valued at P5.48 billion in 2010.

Admittedly, he said, this is two percent less than the output in 2009 and the slump was due to the El Niño phenomenon that hit many production areas in Luzon during the first nine months of 2010 and the late maturity of berries at Cavite farms.

The negative trend, he added, extended to the first half of 2011 which saw harvest going down by 8.5 percent from 43,500 tons during the same period in 2010 to 39,800 tons in 2011. High production costs, low bean prices and other factors contributed to the decline in production. For the second half of 2011, uncooperative weather will continue to weigh in, he added.

Initial reports on typhoons Pedring and Quiel indicated minimal damage on coffee farmers, fueling confidence about the ability of the country to bounce back from earlier losses.

Based on the update from the DA High Value Crops Development Program, the successive storms damaged a total of 45 hectares of coffee farms in Kalinga, destroying 5.4 tons of beans worth P378,000 at current farmgate price of P70 per kilo.

He said local coffee farmers need to be alert, aggressive, innovative and united in pushing for the development of the sector so “we will not be left in our journey towards progress.”

He said DA’s development program for the coffee sector will remain comprehensive, employing integrated crop management, area expansion and rehabilitation and market development initiatives to increase trade and production in tandem with concerned industry stakeholders and partners.

He said with the Philippine Coffee Board, for instance, “we carried the Pilipinas, Gising at Magkape program” geared towards boosting coffee production and attaining self sufficiency through rehabilitation of poorly maintained coffee farms and development of additional farms.

He reported that rehabilitation of coffee farms have been completed in 1,800 hectares including close to one million trees. The DA also distributed 180,600 seedlings to the farmers who planted in new and expansion areas.

The and DA and the Coffee Board also distributed 23,553 bags of organic fertilizers and 1,500 bags of chemical fertilizers.

He said the Kape Isla, flagship coffee brand that extols the world class quality of Philippine coffee, was re-launched with a new logo and emphasizing on the distinct taste and aroma of four coffee varieties namely Liberica, Robusta, Arabica and Excelsa through a more aggressive promotional and market linkage campaigns.

This year and within the medium term, he said, the DA will continue to assist farmers in expanding coffee areas and rehabilitating and rejuvenating existing farms. Through a cost sharing shceme, the DA-HVCDP is providing quality planting materials, organic fertilizers and extension support through trainings and information materials.