[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’Miag-ao coffee farmers attract nat’l investors ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY: Pauline Esmalla, Selina Ginting, Teresa Gatmaitan, and Leo Angelo Vitudio
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
MIAG-AO, Iloilo – Through the initiative of the locals and the local government unit (LGU), Miag-ao’s coffee industry in Barangay Ongyod has gained attention from various investors.
According to Jama Ben Asmarin, former barangay captain of Barangay Ongyod and also a coffee farmer, they have received financial support from national investors for the development and expansion of their coffee industry.
Youth First Initiative (YFI) Philippines, a nongovernment organization that helps promote local products, has proposed P10 million for the improvement of Barangay Ongyod’s coffee industry through the aid of the Foundation for a Sustainable Society, Inc. and several rural banks. Janvie Amido, founder and executive director of YFI, said the proposal is currently subject for approval of the funders.
He explained that the majority of the funding will be used for the expansion of the plantation to 300 hectares which they hope can produce 100 tons of coffee beans. From this, the coffee farmers of Ongyod will form a community cooperative that will manage the production of coffee.
“With that kind of intervention, our coffee farmers are not just planters and harvesters but professionally trained in packing, milling and other technical expertise. Raw coffee beans sell for a low price in the market but if it’s already packed, branded and has its own logo the whole income will go directly to the community,” Amido added.
He also said the P10-million fund is expected to go to Barangay Ongyod by the first quarter of 2017.
Another organization, Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDDS), generated a community sub-project for Barangay Ongyod which is the Community Empowerment through Provision of Coffee-Milling Equipment for Livelihood.
Through this project, Barangay Ongyod has received a grant of P125,000 from KALAHI-CIDDS and P1,000 in kind from the LGU for the purchase of coffee-milling equipment.
On the other hand, Raymundo Monroy, municipal agriculturist of Miag-ao Municipal Agriculture Office, mentioned that the local government will provide post-harvest facilities to the coffee farmers of Ongyod once their production grows even more. They will also help them with the marketing of their coffee through coffee shops in Miag-ao like Café de Hablon and Café Diem.
However, Monroy said the road to Ongyod from the town proper is still underdeveloped thus it is hard to transport the harvested coffee beans to the town proper.
Barangay Ongyod, which is located 18 kilometers away from the town proper in the north-western part of Miag-ao, can be reached by a 30-minute ride from the town proper to Barangay La Consolacion. From there, a 2- to 3-hour trek is needed to finally get to the barangay.
With this, Miag-ao has received a budget from the Department of Tourism for the construction of a tourism highway from the town proper all the way to Barangay Ongyod. The tourism highway will serve as a farm-to-market road. Different infrastructures will also be built around the tourism spots in the area.
Coffee farmer Jesus Juderial, 33, said it takes a lot from their income to pay the people who will carry the sacks of coffee beans down to the town proper.
ONGYOD’S GROWTH
Every first quarter of the year, the coffee farmers of Ongyod harvest 6 to 10 tons of coffee beans from their 20-hectare plantation. They produce four varieties of coffee namely Robusta, Excelsa, Liberica and Arabica. The most in demand variety is Robusta which is priced at P120 – P130 per kilo. Excelsa beans range from P130-P150 per kilo. Liberica beans cost P80-P100 per kilo while Arabica beans are worth P180-P200 per kilo.
In 2013, Barangay Ongyod started supplying for Nestle Philippines, which greatly contributed to the growth of their coffee industry.
According to Monroy, all varieties of their coffee beans are of excellent quality. “[The coffee from Barangay Ongyod] can be compared to Batangas coffee. When we say premiere coffee in the Philippines, we think of Batangas, right?” he added.
He also said the soil and the climate in the barangay, located at 800 meters above sea level, are conducive for coffee production.
However, their production of coffee beans has decreased by 1 ton due to the onslaught of El Niño in the first quarter of 2016. According to Asmarin, a fraction of their coffee beans got rejected because they were damaged. The pricing of their products, especially Robusta beans, lowered from P120-P130 per kilo to P80- P110 per kilo.
For her part, Jocelyn Ermoso, incumbent barangay captain of Barangay Ongyod, the income of the coffee industry in Ongyod depends on the land area that the coffee farmers own.
Another coffee farmer, Rosario Mujer, 68, said, “Our profit from our production is minimal since we only harvest from a small plantation.”
She added that most of their earnings go to their expenses such as payment for manual labor and transportation from the barangay to the town proper and to Iloilo City.
For coffee farmers who own vast plantations like Asmarin, the coffee industry in Ongyod has greatly contributed to their family. He said the profit they earned from the coffee industry provided tuition for his children and his cousins. Asmarin added that the profit from their harvest pays for their fertilizers for other products like rice, corn and nuts; their expenses for their plantation; and their loans.
Miag-ao mayor Macario Napulan said, “[I want to] maximize their potential as the coffee center, not only of our municipality but the whole province of Iloilo.”
With its gradual growth and support from investors, Miag-ao hopes that Barangay Ongyod will carve its name in the country’s coffee scene./PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
