Cordillera as top coffee producer

Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – The Philippine Coffee Board has cited the Cordillera has the great potential to become the major producer of Arabica coffee, one of the most in demand coffee variety in the international market, because of its high altitude and rich soil properties for the production of the coffee variety.mthe thousands of Arabica coffee farmers in Benguet, Mountain Province and Kalinga to show the region has available resources that when utilized to develop commodities that the region will surely depict the cordillera has an advantage over other coffee-producing regions.

Aside from generating additional income for the coffee farmers, PCB and RDC-CAR officials explained coffee production will greatly help in the watershed rehabilitation and management efforts of the national and local governments in order to sustain the capacities of the watershed areas through organic coffee production.

Coffee occupies an important place in the world economy, being widely consumed as the most prestigious beverage. Coffee is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water and the second most traded commodity after petroleum.

Arabica coffee is the most in demand variety in the international market because of its aroma and long lasting caramelized taste. It is considered to be the best coffee in other countries because of its excellent flavor and aroma which yields 500 to 1,000 kilos of clean dry coffee beans per hectare.

In the country, there are at least 123,956 hectares which serve as production areas for the different varieties of coffee which produce a volume of 96.88 metric tons and down to 97.43 metric tons in 2008 from an area of 123,269 hectares.

Based on available records, the Cordillera produced 26.25 metric tons in 2996 from an area of 7,581 hectares slightly decreasing to 5.95 metric tons in 2008 from an area of 7,270 hectares.

PCB and RDC-Cordillera disclosed the region has an existing 7,781 hectares utilized for coffee production and another 3,000 plus hectares potential expansion areas, not including the potential areas that can be used for agro-forestry utilizing coffee as the economic commodity for agro-forestry.

Emmanuel Torrejon, a member of the PCB board of Directors, claimed the cool climate of the region is suitable for Arabica coffee production while the warm climate in the lowland Cordillera areas is suitable for Robusta coffee production services.

Coffee has been included as one of the top five priority commodity identified by the Department of Agriculture (DA) but the PCB is handling the programming and provision of services for the commodity.

Among the vital projects undertaken by the PCB is coffee rejuvenation and rehabilitation of poorly maintained Robusta and Arabica farms and planting of additional hectares as well as the conduct of training events for the different farmers in the various coffee-producing provinces in the region.