Nestle - Philippines - Coffee

Since the 1960s, Nestlé Philippines, Inc. has adopted an agronomy program aimed at increasing the income of coffee farmers and improving the quality of their lives. By improving the methods in growing coffee, farmers can get better and higher quality yields, and help increase coffee supply in the country.

In 1994, the Company established the Nestlé Experimental and Demonstration Farm in Tagum, South Mindanao, where coffee farmers are trained on the proper way of growing coffee. It also serves as a venue for the conduct of experiments and production of planting materials. In 1994, the Company established the Nestlé Experimental and Demonstration Farm in Tagum, South Mindanao, where coffee farmers are trained on the proper way of growing coffee. It also serves as a venue for the conduct of experiments and production of planting materials.

Introduced in 2003, Nestlé’s Coffee-Based Sustainable Farming System encourages farmers to plant other crops in-between rows of coffee trees, to provide them with additional or alternative income on a regular basis. This is in line with the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative of Nestlé (SAIN), an advocacy being promoted by the Company worldwide to make coffee farming feasible and sustainable. Nestlé is also an active member of the National Coffee Development Board (NCDB), which has launched efforts to revive the local coffee farming industry to increase coffee production and consumption in the country.

Through regular visits, the Company reinforces among farmers the importance of good plantation management, which includes weeding, fertilizing, application of compost or organic fertilizer and pruning, as well as proper harvesting and post-harvest processing method. It has produced a number of brochures to further aid coffee farmers in improving their yield.

Nestlé also supports coffee farmers through its buying policy. The Company commits to purchase all coffee produced in the country at a suitable price based on the prevailing world market price and Nestlé’s coffee grading system. Green coffee beans are bought directly from farmers through various buying stations located in various parts of the country.


http://www.community.nestle.com/Asia/Philippines/
Agricultural+Assistance/Coffee+Farming+System.htm