Smooth aroma and high income.

This is what the Department of Agriculture (DA) Caraga envisions for the coffee farmers in Surigao del Sur by bringing the coffee industry to a higher level.

As a step forward, two million pesos worth of a coffee processing facility was turned over by DA-Caraga to a farmer’s association in Tagbina, Surigao del Sur on June 9, 2022.  

Funded through the High-Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP), the P2M project wherein P800T for the building and P1.2M for the facilities including the dryer was received by San Nicolas Development Cooperative.

The said cooperative was composed mostly of women based in San Nicolas, Doña Carmen, Tagbina, Surigao del Sur wherein members gratefully received their most awaited request, a coffee roasting facility.

Rebecca Reyes Atega, Regional Technical Director for Operations expressed optimism that the facility will enhance their livelihood through coffee processing motivated by their passion for the product.

“These coffee farmer aims to develop the most aromas from the Arabica coffee harvested through proper roasting techniques,” she said.

Engr. Ricardo M. Oñate, Jr., DA-Caraga Regional Director urged the association to look beyond and extend help to other farmers through consolidation.

“Nowadays, we need to have an economy of scale through consolidation of products for better market advantage, so more farmers will be encouraged to plant more, in support of DA’s Plant Plant Plant Program or Agri4Ps,” he noted.

On the other hand, Marco Antonio Morido, High-Value Crops Development Program Regional Coordinator emphasized to the farmers to follow the right technology for coffee production to maintain a high quality of produce.

“As we are urging our coffee farmers to follow the right technology, we at DA-Caraga is also embarking on a production enhancement through rehabilitation, rejuvenation, and fertilization of the coffee farms in the region,” Morido said.

He added that they are working with local government units to help boost the coffee industry in their respective locality.

Based on PSA data, the volume of production of coffee in the region was recorded at 1,622.24 MT wherein the province of Surigao del Sur posted an 85% contribution to that year’s production.

Other officials who graced the occasion were Tagbina Municipal Mayor Generoso L. Naraiso, Provincial Agriculturist Marcos M. Quico, Municipal Agriculturist Warlito D. Untua , officials from DTI, CDA, and other partner stakeholders. (Aurelius Parido Arais/DA-Caraga)