Int'l agri coop body sees better pricing of Davao-grown coffee

DAVAO CITY -- The Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA) sees better pricing of coffee in Davao, pointing out the skills and knowledge of farmers to distinguish the quality of the coffee seeds.

ACDI/VOCA chief of party Theolonious Trimmell underscored the farmers' awareness of the quality of their seeds, saying this gives them more leverage to set their price with their buyers.

"They are aware of the value of their coffee when they assess their beans and know the quality of their coffee, based on the grade through cupping," Trimmell said.

Cupping, or coffee tasting, is the practice of observing the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee.

With better knowledge and information on what to do at the farm level, Trimmel said it is critical for both buyers and producers to assess coffee.

It even builds a relationship between the farmers and buyers and establishes transparency, he added, as "it is basically the buying language to determine the quality of their coffee, and subsequently, the price of coffee is based on quality".

In Davao region, there is only one government coffee cupping laboratory, housed at the SPAMAST or the Southern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (Philippines) in Davao del Sur.

SPAMAST director for Research Development and Extension Augie E. Fuentes said the cupping laboratory is equipped with roasting machine, grinding machine, moisture meter equipment, and other important implements.

Fuentes said the facility caters coffee samples from farmers, grades the samples, and provides them the results for farmers to know their specialty and command a good price.

The assistance of SPAMAST does end with cupping, she said, adding that the school also provides training courses that include post-harvest techniques and drying.

Right now, Fuentes said SPAMAST caters to the coffee farmers of barangays Balutakay, Bansalan, and Binaton, Digos City in Davao del Sur. SPAMAST is also open to the rest of the stakeholders in the region, including those from neighboring areas such as Cotabato and other Davao provinces.

Fuentes said coffee cupping is part of the post-harvest activity and farmers submit their seeds every two weeks during harvest time. Coffee cupping fee is pegged at PHP1,000 per sample. (Digna D. Banzon/PNA) (Digna D. Banzon/PNA)