DA Lures Bicol Farmers Into Coffee

DA lures Bicol farmers into coffee, cacao
production
by Philippine News Agency
May 22, 2016
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PILI, Camarines Sur The regional office for Bicol here of the Department of the Agriculture
(DA) has trained farmers, nursery operators and farm extension workers on propagation of coffee
and cacao.
image: http://www.mb.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/bicol.jpg
Bicol Region (Photo courtesy of Google Map)

The two-day training course on Nursery Establishment, Management and Propagation
Techniques of Selected Fruit Crops recently conducted in Nabua, Camarines Sur was focused
on the two high-value fruit crops in an effort to lure the participants into their commercial
production.
Attended by 58 extension workers, farmers and nursery owners selected from the six provinces
of Bicol, the training was able to enhance their knowledge and skills in nursery establishment
and management as they were oriented on rootstock technology particularly budding, grafting
and other plant propagation techniques, Rosita Imperial, DAs regional supervising science
research specialist, on Saturday (May 21, 2016) said.
Participants were able to familiarize themselves with propagation tools and techniques of
selected fruit crops in different regions and enhance skills and knowledge on the best practices of
asexual plant propagation, she said.
Coffee and cacao are among the high-value crops being promoted for development in the region
owing to enormous market demand and high export potential, Imperial said.
The DA-Bicol, she said, is currently working on the expansion of these two crops plantations all
over the region under the agencys Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP), an
intervention falling under the application of the High-Value Crops Development Act of 1995
which allots funds for providing production assistance, technology transfer, marketing and
processing that now steer farmers towards generating more income.
In HVCDP whose implementation has been intensified in the region since about four years ago,
assistance to producers concerning crop insurance, credit, post-harvest facilities, good seeds and
planting materials and fiscal incentives are also provided.
Commercial production of coffee beans, according to Imperial, should be expanded so that its
benefits in terms of financial returns that local farmers could reap from the growing demand in
the country and abroad of this high-value crop is maximized.
About three decades ago, the Philippines was fourth largest coffee-producing nation and noted as
among the few countries in the world where leading coffee varieties like robusta, excelsa and
liberica exist.
Through the years, however, coffee plantations in the country decreased from 149,657 hectares
to 138,830, putting the domestic production down to only 0.12 percent of the worlds coffee
output and making the Philippines now a net importer as total demand reaches 70,350 metric
tons (MT) while local production is only 47,838 MT.
Imperial said the countrys latest yearly coffee importation is 22,500 MT valued at Php6.72
billion and out of the 88,526-MT coffee production of the Philippines in 2011, Bicol was able to
contribute only 327 MT.
Sorsogon is Bicols top producer of coffee with its 171 MT, followed by Albay, 103.66 MT;
Camarines Sur, 26.54 MT; Camarines Norte, 22.93 MT; and Catanduanes, 1.99 MT.
We need to enable local farmers to turn to this high-value crop and eventually void of the need
to import coffee beans, such as from Indonesia and Vietnam, to meet the local demand, Imperial
said.
There have been various training sessions conducted by the DA on nursery management for
coffee seedlings of robusta variety, described as a sturdy species of coffee bean with low acidity
and high bitterness and used primarily in instant coffee, espresso and as a filler in ground coffee
blends.
Robusta, Imperial said, is easy to care for, has a greater crop yield than arabica coffee, has almost
double the amount of caffeine, more antioxidants than arabica coffea and is less susceptible to
disease.
Roasted robusta beans, she said, produce a strong, full-bodied coffee with a distinctive earthy
flavor, but usually with more bitterness than arabica due to its pyrazine content.
Approximately 30 percent of the coffee produced in the world is robusta and in recent years,
Vietnam, which produces mostly this variety, has surpassed Brazil, India, and Indonesia to
become its worlds single largest exporter.
Studies show that robusta coffee is used as a stimulant, diuretic, antioxidant, antipyretic and
relieves spasmodic asthma.
Cacao, which that grows well in the region owing to its tropical climate, meanwhile, has a big
potential due to global consumption and demand for chocolates.
In 2020, a global scarcity of cacao beans is being anticipated and the DA is preparing Bicolano
farmers to this scenario that would benefit them should they participate in large-scale production
being promoted by the agency under the HVCDP in partnership with the Philippine Coconut
Authority that provides technologies in cacao intercropping with coconut and pili.
So far, enthusiasm on cacao growing has been spreading like wildfire in Bicol since the program
started about three years ago a campaign towards grooming cacao beans as another sunshine
industry of the region by way of promoting this high-value crops significance both in terms of
economic and health gains.
Imperial, who is also the regional HVCDP focal person, said she is optimistic that with the help
of local government units in the region, the program can attain its targets for 2016 which include
an addition of 850 hectares for cacao and 75 hectares for coffee, in the province of Camarines
Sur alone.
Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/da-lures-bicol-farmers-into-coffee-cacaoproduction/#hbsm6uFGA5bkeTeB.99

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Bicol Region (Photo courtesy of Google Map)

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