The
attainment of the goals set in the country’s
coffee roadmap is determined by public and private convergence thus, programs
such as the 2nd Philippine Coffee Conference firms up stakeholder’s initiatives
in promoting coffee as a national industry, Department of Trade and
Industry-Regional Operations Group (DTI-ROG) Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya
said during the conference held last November 23-25, 2016 in Baguio City.
Ms. Maglaya explained that
the government will provide technical support while the private sector will
take the lead in what she refers to as “angat lahat” for shared responsibility
while attaining inclusive growth.
Meanwhile, Department of
Agriculture (DA) Regional Executive Director Lorenzo Caranguian, said that the
roadmap goal is also dependent on the right seed, right place, right price and
right market.
With the theme “Nurturing the
Coffee Industry Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Growth”, the two-day conference
engaged the 800 participants from various sectors to a series of forums and
interactions complete with a barista aided Coffee Pavilion that showcased
various coffee products of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
In presenting the Philippine
Coffee Roadmap for 2016-2022, Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries
Chairman Dave Santos emphasized that there must be a comprehensive industrial
strategy to enable agri-business, manufacturing and service firms to upgrade,
thrive, and become catalysts and engines for sustained and inclusive growth.
Mr. Santos added the country
must also align its goals to the World Coffee Vision 2020 “Collective Impact
for Sustainable Coffee Communities” and capacitate producers to take advantage
of the many opportunities of the industry.
“We need to promote the
success of domestic firms in both the local and international markets that will
lead to economic transformation by creating the proper environment and
strengthening industries,” Mr. Santos explained.
On post-harvest handling and
quality control of coffee, Dr. Manuel Diaz, Consultant of Coffee Quality
Institute presented “The Science of Fine Robusta,” saying that Robusta Coffee
will become the major source of coffee consumption globally. A known cupper and
grader, Mr. Diaz claimed that Robusta is easier to tend to in farm, has a
higher yield and is also less sensitive to insects.
Dr. Phan Viet Ha, the Head of
Science Plan Department, Western Highlands Agriculture & Forestry Science
of Vietnam discussed Vietnam’s Programs and Strategies on Coffee Production,
Productivity and Processing. Dr. Ha said that Vietnam undertakes what he calls
a research-oriented sustainable coffee production and coffee breeding which is
a complete form of Integrated Crop Management (ICM).
The ICM, according to Dr. Ha,
is a protocol applied for the coffee industry in various regions in Vietnam and
his office pushes for the application of such protocols. One of Vietnam’s good
practices, he added, is the use of mechanization and hi-tech applications in
coffee production. (DTI)
Caps
Coffee toast. DTI-Cordillera
Administrative Region (DTI-CAR) Regional Director Myrna P. Pablo. DTI-Regional
Operations Group Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya and Department of
Agriculture-CAR's Regional Director Lorenzo Carangian raises their mugs leading
800 others during the 2nd Philippine Coffee Conference for the success of the
Philippine coffee industry. (DTI photo)
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