Coffee board may soon realize its long-term goal

The Philippine Coffee Board’s (PCB) long-time goal of accurate coffee hectarage and annual coffee production forecasting may soon be achieved as Nescafé renews its pledge of financial and technical assistance.

Joel Lumagbas, head of agricultural services of Nestlé Philippines Inc., the makers of Nescafé, says his firm is ready to support PCB’s proposed validation task force that aims to survey and measure all the coffee trees and plantation in the country. Consequently, this will allow more accurate annual forecasting once the coffee hectarage has been determined.

"Coffee hectarage and forecasting are very important to the industry because these will show us how much coffee we have. This, in turn can help us gauge the amount of hectarage for coffee farms still needed to meet our local demands," says Lumagbas. "It will also help us establish an accurate buying and selling price for our coffee."

Nikki Matti, co-chairman of PCB, adds that the industry has always relied on trade statistics and trade-based information for actual coffee production. He points out, however, that, "a lot of coffee production cannot be accounted for because these are grown, processed and consumed in the local areas."

PCB is a private sector-led group sworn into office by President Arroyo on May 29, 2002 as the National Task Force on Coffee Rehabilitation.

Its goal is to develop and promote the Philippine coffee industry through technical assistance and credit programs for coffee farms; through certification of coffee farms, millers and roasters; and through marketing and promotions of coffee for domestic and export markets.

Nescafé is one of the founding members of PCB and a major partner in many of its activities: seminars, coffee-farming courses, trade shows, and exhibits. This October, the Coffee Board will have its fourth annual month-long celebration of Philippine-grown coffee and coffee products.

Nescafe: Pro-Philippine coffee

In 2003, PCB launched Kape Isla, a marketing and promotional program that established a unified Philippine coffee brand to develop loyalty and increase domestic production, and consequently, create more jobs.

Early this year, in support of Kape Isla, Nescafe launched Nescafe Classic First Pick, a 100-percent pure instant coffee product made in the Philippines from local first harvest coffee beans.

The success of Nescafe Classic First Pick in the market is likewise a triumph for over 30,000 Filipino coffee farming families who sell their crops to the popular coffee brand.

In the coming years, Nescafe intends to launch several specialty coffee variants under the Kape Isla seal to further enliven the local coffee industry.

Nescafé also provides free technical training in coffee agriculture through the Nestlé Experimental and Demonstration Farm in Tagum City, Davao del Norte. The NEDF will also deploy its agronomists to conduct off-site training in case farmers do not have the resources to visit the NEDF in Davao del Norte.