The journey started last year in Ifugao when PCBI consultant Robert Francisco and PEF program manager Bong Soto trekked to Asipulo, Ifugao to announce the rules.

It was important to announce the contest way before harvest time so coffee farmers could pick the best fruits, process them well, then prepare them for cupping. This was in November 2018.

Last March, farmers sent their coffee samples to PCBI and these were cupped and graded by PCBI/CQI-trained Q graders Mario Macalalad, Bea Belardo, and Jen Rimando under Robert Francisco’s management. PCBI received 21 samples and out of these, 17 made the grade.

Making the grade means scoring over 80 points.

The awarding ceremonies will be held this April, in time with the festivities in the town of Asipulo.

PEF has generously prepared cash prizes and tokens to entice the farmers to continue the practice for the coming harvest season. This will make Ifugao coffee known as a specialty grade and could fetch higher prices for the farmers’ efforts.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
The Department of Agriculture (DA) worked with PCBI on the Pilipinas Gising at Magkape (PGAM) Program from 2008 to 2010. That resulted in over 1,300 farmer groups getting organic fertilizers and rehabilitating their farms for better yields. Today, we see the program come full circle with our partners harvesting higher yields per tree than before.

DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) also supported the promotions program even beyond PGAM. They invited PCBI directors Emmanuel Torrejon and Pacita Juan to Kalinga in 2011, to conduct an introductory course in cupping coffee. Torrejon and Juan alsochecked the local facilities available, such as roasters and pulpers.

DTI under the helm of cluster head Myrna Pablo invited Juan and Chair Nicholas Matti to their Strategic Planning sessions in 2014 and 2015. The aim was to replicate PCBI’s Pick Red Campaign, allowing DTI to use it as a general campaign to encourage better quality harvests of coffee, whether the farmers roasted them or not. DTI also sent representatives to the Coffee Origins exhibits in Makati and Davao regularly until 2016.

LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES
The Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) also supported PCBI by allowing the 6th National Coffee Summit to be held at the LBP Headquarters, to accommodate a bigger crowd. LBP also created a bank product called Coffee 100, to encourage cooperatives and use LBP facilities for loans and other credit instruments. LBP also supported PCBI through promotions in media such as radio programs and magazine articles.

PEACE AND EQUITY FOUNDATION
The partnership between PCBI and Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) started sometime in 2013, coinciding with PEF’s decision to support coffee as one of the C-5 agricultural commodity crops nationwide. PCBI’s strong advocacy for coffee was a perfect fit for PEF’s thrust to help benefit farmers.

According to PEF senior portfolio officer Bong Soto, “Coffee is a prime commodity crop which brings good profit to the farmers as long as the role of the traders in marketing is controlled, that is, they are not the only ones profiting from the trade. PCBI is a group of business people who believe in this principle, as well as promoters of our homegrown coffee as one of the best worldwide.” Soto affirms that PEF will continue to be a major supporter of PCBI’s annual National Coffee Summit, with the valuable experience that can be shared by its members.

“There are a lot of marketing experts within PCBI, and we hope that PCBI people will share this with the coffee growers as they develop their enterprise for the benefit of the coffee farmers.”