Gov't to extend assistance to Mindanao coffee growers

GOVERNMENT financing institutions have earmarked credit assistance to coffee growers in Mindanao.

During the recent Mindanao Agri-Fisheries Investment Forum, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced that Quedancor and the Land Bank of the Philippines is offering credit assistance per hectare to coffee growers in Mindanao.

Quedancor under the self-reliant team (SRT) offers P28,000 for hectare for rehabilitation and a maximum of P50,000 per farmer while the Land Bank of the Philippines extends P45,000 per hectare for rejuvenation and P60,000 for new planting.

The DA reported that the Philippines' consumption of coffee from 1993-1995 was 48,000 tons and reached 55,000 metric tons in 2OO4.

Instant coffee is still the general preference but there is a growing demand for the ground and brew sector with the organic coffee as the other growth area.

Of the total productive coffee area in the Philippines of 72,620 hectares more than half of the total figure or about 49,200 hectares are found in Mindanao.

With right management of area planted to coffee it could yield an average of two to three metric tons per hectare as against the current average yield of only 0.39 metric tons per hectare.

There are about 300,000 Filipinos that depend on the coffee industry.

In 2004, the Philippines imported 15,057 metric tons of raw green beans, roasted beans and extracts worth US $25.49 Million.

Robusta green bean import in 2004 was 8.197 MT at $7.63 million or $0.93 per kilogram while the Arabica green bean import last year accounted for 81.34 MT at $1.144 per kilogram.

Coffee is among the nine prioritized commodity in Mindanao.

The eight other commodities are rubber, coconut, poultry, banana, mango, palm oil, seaweeds, and tilapia.

For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here.

(August 26, 2005 issue)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2005/08/26/bus/
gov.t.to.extend.assistance.to.mindanao.coffee.growers.html