Nescafé, UPLB launch agri scholarship

MANILA, Philippines - Nestlé Philippines Inc. (NPI) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) on May 8, launching the first-ever Nescafe Coffee University of the Philippines Scholarship or Nescafe CUPS. 

Under the Nescafé CUPS program, three deserving students of UPLB would be given full scholarships with a stipend. Junior students specializing in any plant science major with at least a 2.0 average and with an annual family income of less than P500,000 are eligible to apply.

The grant would also give the scholars the opportunity to intern at the Nestlé Experimental and Demonstration Farm (NEDF) in Tagum, Davao del Sur where they will be trained by Nestlé’s team of agronomists. 

Christophe Stern, Nestlé’s business executive manager for coffee and creamer, said he hopes the scholarship program would help generate interest in agriculture among the youth, especially coffee farming.

According to Stern, this is important because despite the importance of the agriculture industry in promoting inclusive growth and food security, the Philippines has seen a decline in the portion of the workforce taking part in agricultural jobs. 

“There is a huge opportunity for the Philippines to turn around the coffee industry and again be self-sufficient again. We want to be able to buy all our coffee beans here from our very own farmers, and to give jobs to as many people as possible, and to be dependent on our own coffee farmers,” shared Stern. “This requires long-term planning and we need all the help we can get, especially from the youth who are the future scientists, managers, and leaders of the agriculture industry.” 

Nestlé, through its Nescafe Plan, is aiming to increase its Philippine-sourced coffee to 75 percent by the year 2020 from the current 30 percent. The plan also entails training over 90,000 farmers and distribution of 25.2 million seedlings over the said period.

“The Nescafe Plan is a collaborative effort and we are working with various stakeholders in the coffee industry. We are very happy that we were able to cement this partnership with UPLB and we look forward to working with the younger stakeholders as well,” added Stern.

 On the other hand, UPLB chancellor Rex Victor Cruz acknowledged the assistance provided by Nestlé, noting how the “partnership with Nestle will help us achieve our goal of increasing the level of recognition, stature, and competitiveness of UPLB among our Asian counterparts.” 

Apart from  Stern, also present during the signing were Nestlé’s corporate affairs head and senior vice president Edith de Leon, chancellor Rex Victor Cruz, and College of Agriculture dean Domingo E. Angeles.