PANGANTUCAN, Bukidnon (PIA)--The Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office (DA-RFO)-10 turned over P6.73 million worth of assistance, March 20, to Bayanihan Millennium Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BMMPC), a coffee-based group in barangay Pigtauranan, Pangantucan, Bukidnon.
Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado of DA-10, along with Field Operations Division chief Luz Guzman, Bukidnon Provincial Operations Center chief Janet Lopez, and HVCDP focal person Kersten Pagalan, handed over the 12-component assistance to Pangantucan town's BMMPC. Pangantucan municipal mayor Miguel A. Silva Jr. and BMMPC chairman Porferio Sayson received it on behalf of their respective organizations.
The coffee farming intervention includes a hauling truck worth P2 million, 31,250 coffee seedlings valued at P1.5625 million, a processing facility worth P1 million, a coffee roasting machine worth P625,000, a plant nursery worth P500,000, and two depulper units valued at P240,000.
The package also includes six production and sorting tables worth P226.5K, a grinding machine (P190K), a dehuller (P147K), five moisture meters (P139.75K), a vacuum pack sealer (P70.5K), and three grass-cutters (P30K).
"The project is just among the interventions that DA-10 has provided your cooperative. We hope it will greatly help to provide labor to your community, increase coffee farmers' income, and expand the reach of your coffee products outside of Bukidnon," Collado said.
The package of interventions, carried out by the High-Value Crops Development Program with 2021 funds, aims to increase coffee production. It was allocated through the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act for its coffee community-based farm enterprise development—farm rehabilitation and improvement component. The project is also being carried out in Talakag, Bukidnon, with coconut growing intercropped with cacao and coffee.
Collado also encouraged BMMPC to submit project proposals whenever they were needed because the cooperative was making progress and was sending coffee to Luzon and even other countries.
He reminded the members of the cooperative that DA will help as long as their goals fit within DA's budget and overall goal for the Philippine coffee industry.
BMMPC is known for producing high-quality coffee beans. Seven of its members won the Northern Mindanao Coffee Quality Competition on March 18, 2023, organized by the Regional Coffee Council, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the United States DA, among others. (DA-10/PIA-10/Bukidnon)
