Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Laguna revitalizes production of Rizal's favorite Robusta coffee
The first ever coffee festival in the city, slated from April 13 until April 15, 2018, showcases the "Cafe de Cabuyao" produced at the Coffee Processing Center--a community-based coffee processing and shared service facility funded by the Department of Agriculture (DA) IV-A under the High-Value Crops Development Program with a counterpart from the local government.
The festival showcased other coffee-based products developed by the Cabuyao Young Entrepreneurs Society, paintings display, barista training, and demonstration of coffee-based products.Meanwhile, in a video presentation, Prof. Clarke Nebrao, the president of the Association of Laguna Food Producers (ALAFOP), discussed the results of his four years of study and research on the history and origin of the Robusta coffee variety in the province, and in particular in Cabuyao, which was known then as Tabuco.
"In 1881, the Agustinian friars introduced a variety of coffee in Tabuco, (which was the old name of Cabuyao), named 'Canephora' now known as Robusta," he said.
He also found out that the Robusta coffee was the favorite beverage of the National Hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal, upon his return to the country from 1887 to 1889.
Historical accounts showed that during that period, Rizal drank the Tabuco (Cabuyao) coffee while writing his poems and letters to girlfriend Leonor Rivera and his novels 'Noli Me Tangere' and 'El Filibusterismo,' among others."Based on historical documents, the Robusta coffee is considered the Laguna Heritage Filipino Coffee since it started in the province and the favorite of Dr. Jose P. Rizal," Nebrao said, adding that it has a distinctive aroma, and has a palatable and preferable taste for Filipinos.
In his remarks, Mayor Rommel A. Gecolea affirmed the finding of Nebrao that the Augustinian friars, who established a Catholic church in Tabuco in the 1800s, also brought Robusta coffee with them to substitute the roasted rice or roasted corn, practiced by the early Tabuco natives.
"As we drink coffee, we will think of the same variety of coffee that Dr. Jose Rizal used to drink while writing his poems and novels in his time," Gecolea said in Filipino.
"Talking about Robusta coffee, it is a beautiful part of the history of our place that we ought to be proud of. I believe that we will not only relive the contribution of coffee in our history, but we will also revitalize the economy of our hardworking and outstanding coffee farmers," he added.
The mayor said that for the local economy to grow, the government will have to invest. As a support to the growing coffee industry, the city government bought 'Cafe de Cabuyao' worth PhP 500,000 in 2017 and PhP 700,000 this year and were given to taxpayers as token and as part of promotions to local folks of a product they can be proud of as their own.
Gecolea said guests and citizens are given free drinks of Cafe de Cabuyao once they visit the city hall while employees also enjoy unlimited coffee daily.
He also cited the creation of the Laguna Heritage Coffee branded as "Maestro 1888," in reference to Rizal as the maestro, for the Robusta coffee produced in the city to add a sense of history on a popular beverage.
A Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) representatives disclosed that the city has been reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as one of the major producers of coffee in the country.
She mentioned the need for revitalization of old coffee trees or 'senile' trees through fertilization and planting of more coffee trees and expansion of planting areas for greater production.
Susan Palo, director, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Laguna also called for the need to expand the planting areas to meet the growing demands of coffee locally and globally and of various levels of affordability.
Records of the City Agriculture Office showed that as of 2017, 58.5 hectares have been planted with 51,638 Robusta coffee trees (38,400 bearing and 13,238 non-bearing) as well as Liberica coffee trees (4,140 bearing and 1,485 non-bearing) in Cabuyao.
According to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), 82 families who are beneficiaries of the government's land reform program owned the land planted with the two varieties of coffee, who also formed themselves into the Casile-Guinting Upland Marketing Cooperative (CGUMC) in 2011. CGUMC was awarded the most outstanding community-based cooperative in 2017. [Zen Trinidad, PNA]
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Industry road map to boost production of Philippine coffee
Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez said the DTI is working closely with the Department of Agriculture (DA) to implement the coffee industry roadmap.
Under the five-year period roadmap, some 213,788 hectares of land is expected to be made available for coffee farming. At the same time, the program is expected to bring about an increase in the average to one ton of coffee beans per hectare from the current 0.33 tons.
Coffee production at the end of the implementation of the roadmap is targeted at 214,626 metric tons (MT) from the current annual output of 37,000 MT, according to Lopez. This would make the country's coffee self-sufficiency level increase to 161 percent from the current 41.6 percent level.
"We have to have a patriotic drive to encourage demand for Philippine coffee. We are encouraging local producers to expand coffee production to create the demand," said Lopez.
The country produces four varieties of coffee -- the robusta, arabica, excelsa, and liberica, it was explained.
The DTI noted the huge local demand for coffee products. The Philippines is the fifth largest consumer of coffee globally, behind the European Union, United States, Brazil, and Japan. Domestic demand is expected to further increase driven by the growing consumption of coffee by the younger generation.
About 90 percent of coffee in the country is imported, which amounted to Php12-billion. This made the country the fourth largest importer of coffee in the world.
Lopez also assured local coffee farmers that DTI has enabling mechanisms to support the industry.
"Through DTI's 7Ms (Mindset change, Mastery, Mentoring, Money, Machine, and Models), we will continue to provide enabling mechanisms to empower coffee farmers and help in addressing the challenges in the industry," the trade chief said.
Aside from coffee industry, other agribusiness sectors that completed their roadmaps include cacao and tablea, carrageenan, condiments, processed fruit, processed meat, and processed shrimp.
The DTI urges industries to craft their own roadmaps that will complement the country's Comprehensive National Industrial Strategy (CNIS), which aims to integrate manufacturing, agriculture, and services.
The industry roadmaps and the CNIS also seek to address gaps in the supply chain and link Philippine industries to the global value chain. [Kris Crismundo, PNA]
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Philippine coffee industry is hot and brewing
While there is more work ahead for the coffee industry, there is palpable confidence among coffee stakeholders in the country.
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - Kirstin Reyes worked for 7 years in Singapore where she began an affair with coffee. When she returned to her home in Tuguegarao City in 2013, she roasted coffee and created her own coffee brand. In 2014, she opened "Barako Boy," Tuguegarao's first coffee shop that sold specialty coffee at a low price. Four years later, Barako Boy is thriving and well, frequented by regulars and walk-ins from a nearby hotel.
Reyes is among the 700 participants of the 3rd Philippine Coffee Conference held in March in Baguio City, organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA). All of the participants - whether engaged in coffee production, processing, trade, roasting or marketing - came from all over the country. The huge turnout of participants, representing almost all of the regions in the country, illustrates the country's engagement with the bean.
The Philippines, which lies on the so-called "coffee belt," has favorable climatic conditions to grow all 4 varieties of coffee, namely Robusta, Arabica, Excelsa, and Liberica throughout the country. The largest coffee producing regions in the country are based in Mindanao - Soccsksargen, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Davao.
A long history of coffee in the Philippines
The industry's rich albeit dramatic coffee history has witnessed the rise and fall of fortunes. In the 19th century, the country was the world's leading exporter of Arabica coffee, until the 1890s, when the proliferation of coffee rust and other diseases totally decimated the crop. The country rebounded by shifting to Robusta up the latter half of the 20th century but failed to recover its world leadership in the commodity. In the 1990s, global coffee 2001 coffee crisis, the domestic industry, which has relied on smallholder producers, collapsed.
and yet optimism prevailed as demand for coffee increased with rising incomes. By 2010, retailers were making the most of the Filipino's need for the brew. According to a study conducted by Washington-based Duke Center for Global Value Chains, the decade saw the proliferation of a younger generation of Filipinos preferring to consume convenient instant coffee to get their daily dose of caffeine.
Meanwhile, wealthier Filipinos, particularly in the urban areas, supported the emergence of a specialty coffee sector, hence, the proliferation of brands such as Starbucks, UCC, and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, as well as small local coffee shops.
Local demand bodes well for the coffee industry
The increase in local demand for coffee has prompted coffee stakeholders to get their act together. To focus efforts on revitalizing the industry, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol approved the Philippine Coffee Industry Roadmap (2017-2022), a product of more than 3 years of organizing the sector.
At the 3rd Philippine Coffee Conference, Senator Cynthia Villar discussed the convergence of various government agencies including the Philippine Coconut Authority, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Department of Agrarian Reform in supporting coffee production.
Agriculture Undersecretary Evelyn Lavina presented various programs being implemented with the support of various universities and private sector partners. Secretary Lopez talked about coffee as a priority of his department's industry clustering program, to ensure markets and market readiness for Philippine products.
Efforts are slowly paying off. In terms of quality, Philippine coffee is reaping international awards for taste. One sterling example is Bana's coffee, a single-origin brand from Sagada, which was awarded the Medaille Gourmet at the International Contest for Coffees Roasted in their Countries of Origin organized by the Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural products in Paris, France.
While there is more work ahead for the coffee industry, there is palpable confidence among coffee stakeholders in the country. Conference participants share animated conversations over cups of the country's best coffees.
Big traders raffle off prizes - expensive coffee equipment - and everyone roots for the farmer who wins a depulper or a barista who wins a complete set of tools.
At the 3rd Philippine Coffee Conference, coffee as an industry is hot and brewing. [Precious Leano, Rappler.com]
Reyes is among the 700 participants of the 3rd Philippine Coffee Conference held in March in Baguio City, organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA). All of the participants - whether engaged in coffee production, processing, trade, roasting or marketing - came from all over the country. The huge turnout of participants, representing almost all of the regions in the country, illustrates the country's engagement with the bean.
The Philippines, which lies on the so-called "coffee belt," has favorable climatic conditions to grow all 4 varieties of coffee, namely Robusta, Arabica, Excelsa, and Liberica throughout the country. The largest coffee producing regions in the country are based in Mindanao - Soccsksargen, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Davao.
A long history of coffee in the Philippines
The industry's rich albeit dramatic coffee history has witnessed the rise and fall of fortunes. In the 19th century, the country was the world's leading exporter of Arabica coffee, until the 1890s, when the proliferation of coffee rust and other diseases totally decimated the crop. The country rebounded by shifting to Robusta up the latter half of the 20th century but failed to recover its world leadership in the commodity. In the 1990s, global coffee 2001 coffee crisis, the domestic industry, which has relied on smallholder producers, collapsed.
and yet optimism prevailed as demand for coffee increased with rising incomes. By 2010, retailers were making the most of the Filipino's need for the brew. According to a study conducted by Washington-based Duke Center for Global Value Chains, the decade saw the proliferation of a younger generation of Filipinos preferring to consume convenient instant coffee to get their daily dose of caffeine.
Meanwhile, wealthier Filipinos, particularly in the urban areas, supported the emergence of a specialty coffee sector, hence, the proliferation of brands such as Starbucks, UCC, and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, as well as small local coffee shops.
Local demand bodes well for the coffee industry
The increase in local demand for coffee has prompted coffee stakeholders to get their act together. To focus efforts on revitalizing the industry, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol approved the Philippine Coffee Industry Roadmap (2017-2022), a product of more than 3 years of organizing the sector.
At the 3rd Philippine Coffee Conference, Senator Cynthia Villar discussed the convergence of various government agencies including the Philippine Coconut Authority, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Department of Agrarian Reform in supporting coffee production.
Agriculture Undersecretary Evelyn Lavina presented various programs being implemented with the support of various universities and private sector partners. Secretary Lopez talked about coffee as a priority of his department's industry clustering program, to ensure markets and market readiness for Philippine products.
Efforts are slowly paying off. In terms of quality, Philippine coffee is reaping international awards for taste. One sterling example is Bana's coffee, a single-origin brand from Sagada, which was awarded the Medaille Gourmet at the International Contest for Coffees Roasted in their Countries of Origin organized by the Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural products in Paris, France.
While there is more work ahead for the coffee industry, there is palpable confidence among coffee stakeholders in the country. Conference participants share animated conversations over cups of the country's best coffees.
Big traders raffle off prizes - expensive coffee equipment - and everyone roots for the farmer who wins a depulper or a barista who wins a complete set of tools.
At the 3rd Philippine Coffee Conference, coffee as an industry is hot and brewing. [Precious Leano, Rappler.com]
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Baguio hosts 3rd Philippine coffee conference
The two-day conference set at Hotel Supreme will be spearheaded by Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez as chair and vice-chair of the Philippine Coffee Council, respectively, along with private sector co-chairpersons Nestle Philippines vice president for Corporate Affairs Ruth Novales and Bo's Coffee CEO Steve Benitez.
The conference will feature presentation of the industry performance report on the first year of the implementation of the Philippine Coffee Roadmap and share and transfer of relevant knowledge and trends aligned with the roadmap's strategic objectives, among others.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Cordillera Director Myrna Pablo, in a Kapihan media forum for the launching of the 2018 Philippine Coffee Conference at the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Office, outlined the importance of such event in pushing for the country's goal to increase production of such event in pushing for the country's goal to increase production toward sufficiency, as well as to boost the country's coffee products toward global competitiveness.
The Philippine coffee products can easily compete internationally such as the highland coffee varieties available in Cordillera, which is why the DA and DTI and their private partners are continuously focusing on increasing productivity and product development/value adding, Pablo said.
DA-Cordillera Technical Director Cameron Odsey, who is in-charge of the High-Value Commercial Crops Development Program, affirmed the high potential of the country's coffee industry, which is why the agriculture department is continuously investing especially in production, primarily to meet the local demand by encouraging Cordillerans into backyard coffee planting and farmers to multi-cropping or to plant coffee between their crops.
DA-Cordillera RTD for Operations Danilo Daguio said different local government units in the region have around P500-million project proposals for coffee production development and that the DA has 44 approved project proposals from Cordillera under the Philippine Rural Development Program which prime commodity is coffee.
DA and DTI officials were joined by private partners -- Cordillera Regional Coffee Council chair Oliver Oliem, Goldfish Brew owner Gemma Ngelangel, Tuba Benguet Coffee Growers Association President Shirley Palao-ay and Trentwoods Plant Nursery representative Charles Matnao who expressed their support to the potentials of the coffee industry. [Sunstar]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)