BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya (PIA) - - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is continously helping coffee farmers in the province to transform them into quality coffee bean producers in Cagayan Valley region.

The assistance came in the form of technology courses for coffee farmers conducted recently at Bumolo’s Integrated Farm in Kasibu town, benefiting 12 coffee entrepreneurs.

DTI Provincial Chief Marietta Salviejo said the technology course ‘Intensive Product Development for Coffee’ intends to help coffee growers and processors with the development of their coffee beans and capacitate them with the necessary knowledge and skills inorder to produce specialty coffee.

“They were trained on proper harvesting and post-harvest handling, including raw material characterization, drying, hulling, storage and warehousing,  drying of coffee cherries (natural), parchment (washed and honey), and a review of GCB defects and their effects on cup quality,” she said.

Salviejo said the participants were also oriented on the local and global trends in the coffee industry, including the market for specialty arabica and fine robusta.

She said the technology course was conducted by the DTI SME Development Division, in collaboration with the Industry Development Division (IDD), Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA), and the Cagayan Valley Coffee Industry Development Council (CVCIDC). (OTB/BME/PIA NVizcaya)