More farmers are being urged to plant coffee that has a huge market potential in Negros Occidental.
Dina Genzola, OIC-Provincial Agriculturist, issued the call at the opening of the first Negros Occidental Coffee Fiesta at Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City on Friday, August 9, which will run until Sunday.
“We want to encourage our farmers who want to diversify, who still have space in their farms to plant coffee, which has a big potential. In Negros alone, there is a big demand for coffee that has not been met,” she said.
Negros Occidental coffee growers produce 650 metric tons of coffee beans annually or 16 percent of the total consumption of 4,070 MT so there is an 84 percent deficit, she said.
There are 4,556 farmers who produce Robusta, Arabica, Liberica and Excelsa coffee in Negros Occidental on 2,532.42 hectares.
She said they assist coffee growers from production, harvesting packaging and marketing to develop “agriprenuers”.
La Castellana produces the most coffee in Negros Occidental at 62.23 metric tons, Genzola said.
She said production in La Castellana was affected by the Kanlaon Volcano eruption but they are working on rehabilitation plans.
The top 10 coffee producing LGUs in Negros Occidental are La Castellana, Sipalay City, Murcia, Salvador Benedicto, Cauayan, Kabankalan City, La Carlota City, Calatrava, Cadiz City and San Carlos City.
Genzola said Negros Occidental was a coffee exporter in the 1950s to 1960s. The insurgency and the conversion of coffee areas to sugarcane fields caused the decline in coffee production in the province, she said.
Today they are working to boost coffee production in Negros Occidental, she said.
The first Negros Occidental Coffee Fiesta celebrates and promotes the Negrense coffee culture, she said.
Its theme is “From bean to cup: Uniting communities, igniting possibilities”.
It is organized by the Negros Occidental Coffee Council, and supported by the provincial government and the Department of Trade and Industry.*