Nestle and DA Partner up to Increase Mindanao Coffee Output

Nestle Philippines Inc. has teamed up with the Department of Agriculture (DA) to implement the Mindanao Robusta Coffee Project which is targeted towards increasing coffee production by enhancing the access of farmers to farm training, inputs, and market opportunities.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed last March 1 with the main beneficiaries being Mindanao Robusta coffee farmers that are practicing intercropping and monocropping in coconut areas and other diversified farmer systems best for the production of coffee.

With the MOU, Nestle and the DA plan to increase Robusta coffee production to 1,000 kilograms per hectare (kg/h) coffee yield by 2027, especially in the Mindanao area where over 80% of the local coffee is produced.

This project has also noted the market relevance of the Robusta variety, which comprises over 60% of variants grown in the Philippines, according to Philippine Statistics Authority data.

DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban has mentioned that coffee is one of the Philippines’ top five high-value crops. This is the reason why this project is one of the urgent priorities of the DA for development and support as well as a high priority on the national economic agenda.

“The Mindanao Robusta Coffee Project is a public-private partnership that aims to create a more robust and globally competitive coffee industry through programs that will increase farmers’ volume production and improve the quality of their green coffee beans,”  mentioned DA Senior Undersecretary Panganiban.

The collaboration between Nestle Philippines and the DA will comprise five elements that would affect each step of the coffee value chain specifically, research, fertilizer support, upskilling of farmers, establishing coffee centers, marketing, and logistics.

Source: Philstar