Nestlé opens 5-ha coffee research facility in Lipa

MANILA, Philippines - Nestlé Philippines Inc., the manufacturer of the Nescafé coffee brand, has opened a five-hectare integrated research center for coffee production in Lipa City that also serves as a buying station for coffee beans from farmers.

The P25-million Nestlé Lipa Integrated Coffee Center (LICC), which was formally launched last week, houses nurseries for the production of Robusta coffee seedlings, a technology demonstration center for new coffee varieties and a composting facility for organic fertilizer.

The LICC is the second facility of its kind in the Philippines after the Nestlé Experimental and Demonstration Farm (NEDF) in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

Nestlé said the facility can assist coffee farmers in improving the quality and quantity of yield.

The center gives farmers access to the best Robusta coffee farming technology as well as planting materials.

 â€œWe mark an important chapter of Nescafe’s history with the completion of the

Nestlé LICC and the formal opening of all its operations,” said Edith de Leon, Nestlé Philippines senior vice president and head of Corporate Affairs of Nestlé Philippines.

“This is a significant milestone which underlines our continuing support of the Philippine coffee industry and our commitment to creating shared value for its various stakeholders, especially the small coffee farmers.”

LICC’s production nursery has the  capacity to cultivate 500,000 coffee seedlings, which will be distributed to growers for a cost.

Over time, it is projected to increase its planting capacity to accommodate as much as one million seedlings and become a major source of coffee planting material in the country.

Nestlé is one of the largest buyers of coffee from local farmers, procuring at world market price.

Farmers sell their produce directly to the company and get paid within eight hours of delivery.

The Nescafé coffee brand was first launched on April 1, 1938 in Switzerland.

By April 1940, Nescafé was available in 30 countries worldwide.

In the Philippines, Nescafé first arrived as part of the ration packs of American soldiers during World War II (1944).