Farmers in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental are hopeful that with proper training and support from the local and provincial governments, they can increase their production of coffee with an assured market that will rake in more income.

Eric Eleccion, chair of the farmers’ association Mag-uumang Lumad sa Barangay Masulog-Bukidnon Tribe, said on Tuesday that one dilemma they are facing is the lack of consistent buyers of coffee beans, forcing them to sell their yields for as low as PHP20 a kilo.

Eleccion is one of 20 farmers from three different associations in Canlaon City who attended the Farm-to-Cup Seminar on Tuesday at the Sidlakang Negros Village here.

“Due to the lack of assured buyers of our coffee beans, many of us in the Indigenous People’s (IP) community in Canlaon City have decided to shift to planting vegetables instead as the returns are faster,” Mirondo said.

He said the 92-strong association previously planted 14 hectares of land with coffee, but these were destroyed during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette in December 2021.

Teodoro Mission, 52, chair of the Malaiba Agro-Forestry Farmers and Workers Association, said that with the lessons they learned from the seminar, they hope to ramp up their coffee production with the help of the government and other sectors.

“I learned today that proper planting of coffee, harvesting, and processing the beans later would mean a higher value for our yield,” Mission said in Cebuano.

He said he was encouraged after hearing that Arabica coffee beans sell as much as PHP500 to PHP800 a kilo.

Mirondo lectured on the different types of coffee, the processing of coffee beans, microclimate adjustments, drying, and preparation for roasting, among other topics.

He and his team also demonstrated how to roast beans with a mini popcorn maker and how to use the moisture content measuring instrument, which he said is an important tool for coffee farmers.

Coffee business owner Lanz Mirondo said he is willing to buy coffee beans from farmers in Canlaon City provided they meet his standards.

Meanwhile, Canlaon City Councilor Angel Amador Soliva, who chairs the Committee on Tourism, Culture and Arts, Family, and Children, said they will find ways to support and help their coffee farmers.

“Canlaon City has great potential for coffee because of its fertile soil. Now that we are experiencing the effects of climate change, I feel that there is a need for our farmers to diversify our products and have additional sources of income,” she said. (PNA)