Mindanaotoday.com | DA-10 stages workshop to bolster coffee industry in Mindanao
MALAYBALAY CITY – In an effort to strengthen support for the coffee farmers and industry in Mindanao, the Department of Agriculture-10 (DA-10) headed by Carlene Collado, OIC-regional executive director, in partnership with Nestlé Philippines, Inc., held a workshop in this city, to finalize the Mindanao Coffee Project (MCP), on Jan. 16-20, 2023.
Through the MCP, the agency aims to establish a globally competitive, sustainable, and product-diversified coffee industry in Mindanao for the benefit of local farmers, traders, manufacturers, and exporters.
In her welcome message, Cora Dumayaca, DA-10 OIC-regional technical director for research and regulations, thanked the agency’s partners from the public and private sectors for the support they continuously extend to coffee farmers in Mindanao.
Gerald Glenn Panganiban, High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) and National Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (NUPAP) director, enjoined the participants to actively participate in said event, as the workshop’s inputs contribute to the impactful work the agency does for coffee farmers in the country.
Meanwhile, Jose Uy III, Nestlé Philippines, Inc. Senior Vice President and Corporate Affairs head, reaffirmed their company’s commitment to empower coffee farmers in Mindanao, particularly those from the provinces of Bukidnon and Sultan Kudarat – two of the country’s leading coffee producers.
The five-day workshop highlighted proposed projects by the University of Southern Mindanao and Nestlé Philippines, Inc. which tackled the productivity of Robusta coffee to organic and inorganic fertilizers, fertilizer support for coffee farmers, and the establishment and improvement of integrated coffee centers in Sultan Kudarat and Bukidnon, respectively.
During the said event, representatives from DA regional offices 9 to 13 also presented their plans and upcoming projects for FY 2023 and 2024 and underscored the Philippine Coffee Industry Roadmap 2021-2025 and the Coconut Farmers’ and Industry Development Plan.
As a showcase of its “regenerative” agricultural farming practices, Nestlé Philippines led by its SVP Uy also facilitated a tour of the Bukidnon Integrated Coffee Center (BICC) and its model coffee farms in Maramag town.
Also supporting the activity were Carlota Madriaga, DA-10 RTD for Operations; Luz Guzman, Field Operations Division chief; Ferdinand Caraballe, Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD) Supervising Agriculturist, and Kersten Pagalan, HVCDP focal person. (GDAndres | DA-10)
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