ANTIQUE – Coffee growers from the upland barangays of Valderrama town are expanding their market to nearby Iloilo City.
“There is really a huge potential for the coffee beans produced by the farmers in Culyat and Cananghan. That is why we are helping them further improve its quality so they could sell it for a higher price,” Valderrama Municipal Agriculture Officer Jonessa Grace Gargueña said in an interview yesterday, June 26.
The market expansion was realized with the help of the Department of Agriculture Region 6 (DA-6).
Shops in Iloilo City buy their coffee beans at P270 per kilo but this could increase once the quality is improved.
The demand for coffee prompted them to request more planting materials from the DA. Currently, they are using home-grown coffee seedlings for their planting materials.
“Coffee farmers in Valderrama, as of now, are only able to harvest 1,000 kilos of beans per hectare, but if provided by DA with good planting materials, they could harvest more,” Gargueña said.
About 15.43 hectares in Barangay Culyat are planted with Robusta coffee, while they have yet to determine the area in Cananghan and the lowlands of Valderrama, she said.
Meanwhile, 20 coffee farmers from the two barangays completed a one-day training to enhance the quality, productivity, and marketability of their products.
“The training was conducted to help the farmers produce coffee products that are competitive in the market and at the same time they could command higher prices for their agricultural product,” Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – Antique’s trade and industry development specialist Jenny May Tabalanza said in an interview on June 25.
They learned how to prune and dry the coffee beans and other post-harvest management techniques.
She said that the upland barangays of Culyat and Cananghan are suitable for planting coffee because of the cold weather.
“There is really a high demand for coffee because of its health benefits and the trend of coffee shops,” she said.
Tabalanza said coffee reduces the risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and liver conditions, improves mood, and enhances the physical performance of an individual. (PNA)
