The Philippines signed an agreement with Indonesia to boost coffee industry and production of the country through training Filipino coffee farmers.
The Coffee Farmers’ Training Grant is a joint project among the PCBI, PT Mayora Indah Tbk, and the Embassy of Indonesia in the Philippines, and the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Based on the partnership, trainings will be held in the Philippines and Indonesia in order to boost the coffee industry.
Respectively, coffee farmers from Benguet, Quezon, Bukidnon, and Sultan Kudarat provinces, as well as the regions of Ilocos, Negros, and Davao will be participated.
“This training aims to contribute to the government’s program in improving productivity, product quality, and profitability of the country’s coffee farms through a competitive and sustainable value chain from farming to manufacturing,” Philippine Coffee Board, Inc. (PCBI) President Pacita U. Juan said in a statement.
Juan stated that the Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa coffee beans are already planted by the smallholder farmers in the said provinces of the Philippines. However, it was identified that farmers can still maximize their income and can still obtain more livelihoods with sustained production.
“Through the educational grant, we hope to help reboot the country’s coffee industry by equipping our coffee farmers with the necessary knowledge, skills, and mindset to derive the most economic benefit from their produce,” Juan mentioned in the report of Business World.
There are ten farmers who were chosen for the said training. owning at least one hectare and producing at least one metric ton (MT) of coffee annually.
The Indonesian Ambassador to the Philippines Sinyo Harry Sarundajang also said that one of the objective of the agreement is to develop the production of Philippine coffee in order to attribute in boosting the coffee industry.
“I am optimistic that this program would be a good start and will also open other new opportunities between our nations to get even closer and gain mutual benefit,” he added.
Sources: https://www.bworldonline.com/philippines-signs-agreement-with-indonesia-to-train-coffee-farmers/