THE DAVAO Region Coffee Council encouraged existing and non-coffee farmers to plant more trees to meet the growing local and export demand in the industry.
During the Agribiz forum on May 14, Davao Region Coffee Council president and Coffee for Peace owner Jojie Pantoja said Davao Region could only supply 25% of the 85% of coffee drinkers nationwide.
“That’s why we are so active in encouraging farmers, especially in the upland where the indigenous people live. If they would plant more coffee trees, at least it helps the environment and provides income to them. Of course three years pa, but that’s the goal, to increase our supply, as our coffee here in the region is very well-known,” Pantoja said.
According to Pantoja, Arabica coffee from Balutakay, Mt. Apo, and Robusta coffee from Davao Oriental are some of the major and in-demand specialty coffee in the Davao region.
She also shared the upcoming Philippine Coffee Quality Competition held on June 7 to support and increase coffee plantations in various areas. Among the 154 entries in the country, 74 of them are from Mindanao, with a total area of 452,100 hectares of planted coffee.
“Magbilang kayo ng puno at hindi hektarya. We should record the number of trees because if we just based on the hectares, we can’t assure that the total area was planted,” she said.
Pantoja also stressed that the Davao Region is not yet self-sufficient in coffee production as some locals source out to other countries for their coffee supply.
“Malayo pa ang self sufficiency. Out of the 4 million demand, we could only supply 2-5% of the coffee, and others are sourced out kasi kulang ng supply,” she added.
The council continues rejuvenating existing coffee trees and urges consumers to continue asking for native brands to push coffee shop owners to patronize local farmers.
Photo from Department of Agriculture XI
