In 2016, CQI and the Philippine Coffee Board, Inc. (PCBI) signed an In-Country Partner Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding that establishes a dynamic working relationship for the benefit of the Philippines. Ultimately, the partnership promotes the welfare of coffee producers and the quality of their coffee.

CQI operations director Lisa Conway shares what makes the partnership work and what it means for Filipino coffee farmers.

WHAT MADE PCBI THE RIGHT IN-COUNTRY PARTNER FOR CQI?
“PCBI is in a leadership position to support all coffee quality improvement initiatives for the Philippine coffee sector that can result in improved quality and improved incomes for producers. Their unique position has them working with both the public and private sectors. They assumed a direct role in the planning and execution of the Kape Pilipino Green Coffee Competition and have worked very hard to be a fair and transparent leader in the coffee sector.”

HOW HAS PCBI’S PARTNERSHIP HELPED CQI’S WORK OF HELPING FARMERS THROUGH EDUCATION AND TRAINING?
“Through the partnership, CQI has been able to access coffee producers from all regions of the Philippines and make sure that they are included in quality improvement training, as offered through the MinPACT program.”

WHAT ELSE CAN THE PARTNERSHIP ACCOMPLISH?
“As the global coffee word becomes more aware of the Philippines as a coffee-producing origin of distinction, CQI can continue to work with PCBI on technical trainings, international promotions and spreading knowledge and awareness of international coffee standards and buyer requirements.”

CQI and PCBI have worked together on multiple strategic initiatives including:
2017 Kape Pilipino Green Coffee Quality Competition
“This event is intended to serve the sector and encourage the development for coffee producers. A first-generation inception event that was very well received (78 samples submitted from 15 regions). The winning coffees were represented and promoted at the 2017 Global Specialty Coffee Expo in Seattle, Washington, and were presented to an international audience during the Specialty Coffee Association event in a public cupping. This level of marketing opportunities changed the way people talk about Philippine coffee. The conversation was immediately able to focus on producing regions, producing organization, variety, processing method and the personal story behind the coffee.”

Training Q Arabica and Q Robusta Graders
“Coffee knowledge is rapidly increasing via CQI’s cupper training programs and making Q Coffees a reality for Filipino producers and producer groups. The cupping courses have resulted in a net increase in trained Q Arabica Graders, for a total of 32 Q Arabica Graders and ten licensed Q Robusta Graders (started with 0) now vested in the business of grading coffee. Their quality assessment will work to advise coffee producers on how to improve their coffee and eliminate factors that make the quality deteriorate, look outward to markets that will buy coffee based on their quality statements.”

2017 Specialty Global Coffee Expo
“The April cupping event at the Global Specialty Coffee Expo event was extremely successful, with about 20 cuppers (green buyers, roasters, coffee professionals, researchers) actively participating in the cupping session and about 25 observers in the room. There was a high degree of interest in these coffees in general, especially the Robusta coffees―Famer Brothers Coffee and Just Coffee Lab and school remarking on the high level of quality at par with the other fine Robustas. Several companies expressed interest in samples and buying opportunities for both species. The message of ‘quality drives price and interest’ was this event’s educational theme and was not lost on the Philippine group.

MinPACT, or the Mindanao Productivity in Agricultural Commerce and Trade, is a project funded by the US Department of Agriculture and implemented by ACDI/VOCA focused on cacao, coffee, and coconut products. The goal is to increase agricultural productivity and income of small-farm families.

GAD, however, is not just a matter of budget. It also ensures that there is gender equality and gender equity. This is what the PCBI learned and hopes to apply in its commitment to uplift the Philippine coffee industry, its advocacy for 15 years and counting.

LEARNING AND SHARING GENDER TOPICS
PCBI is lucky because its women leaders have been exposed to the relevance of gender. Director Kumala Sug-Elardo led her community in a gender sensitivity seminar conducted by the Department of Agrarian Reform in 2016. In 2017, she and PCBI Communications Officer Gold Quetulio attended a Gender Focal Points meeting in Samal, along with other NGO MinPACT partners of ACDI/VOCA.

While the women of PCBI are at the forefront of learning all these, the application needs to be strengthened. This is where ACDI/VOCA once again stepped in through Monitoring and Evaluation Manager and Gender Advisor Mercideta Pacio-Valdez and Gender Specialist Mary Fe Arquiza. The speakers made sure that PCBI’s gender knowledge and skills are reviewed and strengthened. For five whole days, they discussed: Gender First, Gender Laws, Power and Privilege, Gender Mainstreaming in Cooperatives and Organizations, and Gender in Value Chains.

The PCBI team welcomed the new year by learning Gender First from January 8-12, making it the first organization in 2018 to complete the five modules. Cavite State University also attended the talk and gave tips to PCBI in its GAD plans. Commune and ECHOsi were also present.

Up-to-date statistics conducted by local and foreign agencies showed the gender gap on access to land, agricultural training, inputs, tools and technologies, credits, and markets. Participants learned useful definition of terms and were invited to share their opinions and experiences on relevant topics like gender roles, gender issues, and using gender-fair language.

IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT WOMEN
As these topics were unraveled, the participants realized the glaring truth: most women and girls are disadvantaged, vulnerable, marginalized, and discriminated. The change has to start with them so they can influence their family, their community, and through PCBI, their country. This also includes respecting the rights of men and seeking out male champions.

CLOSING THE GENDER GAP
“The project’s vision is to create equitable and sustainable opportunities for women and men. It’s also in support of government directives such as the Magna Carta of Women and the Guidelines on Mainstreaming Gender and Development in Cooperatives,” explained Pacio-Valdez.

Learning about gender is a big help in PCBI’s advocacy. Next comes the challenge of making sure it is understood, appreciated, and,  most important of all, applied.  

The competition is supported and sponsored by the Mindanao Productivity in Agriculture Commerce and Trade (MinPACT) project, a project implemented by ACDI/VOCA and funded by the United States Department of Agriculture. KP’s objective is to improve farmer income through increased production, productivity, and quality of coffee, cacao, and coconut.

Since March 2016 the PCBI has been hosting cupping trainings in coordination with the Barista and Coffee Academy of Asia (BCAA) to improve the understanding of farmers, roasters, and retailers on coffee quality. Recently, an Arabica Q or quality exam was held to graduate Filipino Q graders among the attendees of the past courses. PCBI is the In-Country Partner (ICP) of the CQI, the esteemed authority on specialty coffee based in the USA. Specialty coffee is coffee that scores higher than 80 points on a 100-point scale, the scoring is based on 10 attributes and defects of the coffee. The higher the score, the better price it commands in the specialty market.

Farmer associations and cooperatives as well as individual farmers are encouraged to collect five-kilo samples of their best lot of Arabica and or Robusta green beans with a moisture no higher than 11%. These samples, limited to one sample per association, cooperative, or individual farmer, will be cupped in late February by a panel of experts selected by CQI to do the difficult job.

Farmers need to have the volume required for the samples. They are encouraged to retain the quantity of the same coffee in the sample because if it wins, it may fetch a higher price after the competition.

There is also a special category for Liberica and Excelsa coffee varieties which are also found in the Philippines.

Samples will be received by specific State Universities and Colleges, namely Benguet State University, Cavite State University, Mindanao State University, Southern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology, Sultan Kudarat State University, and by ACDI/VOCA in Davao City. A receiving protocol has been provided to those designated as receivers of coffee samples. Meanwhile, farmers are encouraged to start selectively harvesting and appropriately processing their best green coffee lots for the competition.

International cuppers will be coming from February 27 to March 4 for the cupping exercise. Final results will be announced in early March.

The winning Arabica and Robusta coffees and a representative of the cooperative, association, or the individual farmer who produced them will be sent to the upcoming Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) convention in Seattle, Washington, USA on April 2017. Other coffees that have high scores will also be shared with potential buyers and interested stakeholders during SCAA.

Kape Pilipino Cup Quality Competition Official Rules

Download the form here!

For more information, you may call 0908-8831218 or email admin.pcbi@gmail.com.