Blessed with suitable climatic condition plus available farm technologies, coffee industry in Caraga looks promising.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), coffee production in Caraga had an average growth rate of 12.8% from 2010-2015.
Yet, coffee supply was not enough to meet demand.
“Nestle Philippines, the biggest coffee buyer in the country was able to source out only 25% of local coffee requirement.The remaining 75% had to be imported,” Eddie Baylin, Nestle Area Agronomist for Caraga, said.
During the crafting of Caraga’s coffee industry roadmap in 2016, the lack of quality materials was identified as among weak points of the industry.
Currently, there is only one accredited coffee nursery in the region, the Mabuhay Kahayagan Coffee Growers Cooperative nursery in Tagbina, Surigao del Sur.
Accreditation of plant nurseries ensures quality planting materials that are free from pests and diseases. On the other hand, accredited plant nurseries will have access to technical assistance and supervision, access to government programs in terms of marketing, and are entitled to identified scion/plant propagules from government-registered scion groves.
Among the requirements of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) for nursery accreditation is the establishment of the nursery at least one year prior to application. It should also have a minimum area of 1,000 sq.m. with a stock inventory of planting materials valued at P100,000 per crop applied. It should also have a scion grove and garden planted with National Seed Industry Council (NSC) approved and registered Varieties/cultivars of fruit, plantation and root crops established at least a year before application. The nursery must also have a minimum of 20 mother trees per variety/strain of the crop applied following the recommended distance. The scion grove should not be more than five kilometer radios from the nursery for accessibility. All propagules to be used in sexual/asexual propagation must be obtained from tagged trees by Plant Material Certification of the established foundation/scion budwood and seed garden.
“There is a need to establish more nurseries in the region because we want to be assured of the production of quality and high-yielding planting materials to meet our coffee production target,” said
DA-Caraga High-Value Development Program Coordinator Marco Antonio Morido.
Based on the roadmap, Caraga has a projected target of increased coffee production from 1,716 MT to 3,712 MT in 2022.
Applicants for nursery accreditation may either be an individual applicant or designated representative of an association/corporation/non-government organization (NGO)/local government units (LGUs) or state universities and colleges (SUCs) engaged in plant nursery business.
They must have a propagator who has undergone training in nursery establishment, and principles of plant propagation conducted by BPI, DA-Regional Offices and SUCs.
