TABUK CITY, Kalinga, Philippines — The City Agricultural Office (CAO) here is promoting the revival and establishment of coffee plantations in the area to develop said high value crop as the city’s One Town One Product (OTOP) and boost the promotion of coffee as one of the alternative sources of livelihood for the thousands of agricultural stakeholders.

City Agriculturist Gilbert Cawis Sr. said there is a need to encourage farmers, especially former coffee planters to engage once again in the farming activity considering its economic advantage and sustainability compared with other crops following the rapidly increasing global demand for coffee, especially Arabica coffee which is popularly produced in the Cordillera as one of the cash crops.

He said that several farmers have converted their coffee plantations to corn fields believing that they would gain more and faster compared to coffee production unknowing that the latter is now considered as a descent source of livelihood for the people because of the increasing global market as Arabica coffee is now the demand of the international community because of its long lasting aroma and caramelized taste.

To address this, the local agriculture office conceptualized a plan to advance the city’s coffee management and production program to get farmers’ venture in coffee agri-business in order to significantly increase coffee production to cater to the growing demand so that the same will be sustained and that the local farmers will not eventually loose track of the international market for the lucrative commodity.