The Department of Agriculture (DA), in partnership with the World Bank, granted PHP97.91 million in agricultural investment to boost Bukidnon’s coffee industry through the Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project (MIADP).

In particular, the multi-million-peso investment will benefit the Indigenous Peoples (IP) community of Daraghuyan Ancestral Domain, the home of award-winning Bukidnon coffee producers.

In a statement, MIADP Project Director Macario Gonzaga said this will strengthen the potential and livelihood of Daraghuyan IPs and advance local production sustainability.

“These investments are intended to sustainably increase agricultural productivity, resilience, and access to markets and services,” he said.

“The Daraghuyan Indigenous community has demonstrated strong potential in the coffee industry, and its wholehearted cooperation has helped make these interventions possible.”

Overall, the funding aims to boost and enhance the value chain of the Daraghuyan IPs’ coffee output through improved “farm-to-market (FMR) access, post-harvest handling, processing capacity, and access to essential agricultural services.”

The package covers two FMR projects worth a combined PHP51 million, plus PHP10.45 million for the multi-commodity warehouse and multipurpose drying pavement, and PHP14.76 million for the coffee consolidation, processing, and marketing enterprise.

The funding also covers PHP4.1 million for a Level 2 potable water system and PHP17.6 million for the ram pump and gravity-fed irrigation system.

To date, concreting of the two-lane Sitio Damitan–Sitio Ulanguhon FMR is already 65.63 percent complete.

Meanwhile, the second FMR project covering Sitio Ulanguhon to Sitio Suopon in Barangay Dalwangan has undergone bidding, with bidding documents under review.

The two post-harvest facilities were also recently launched and are expected to be completed within eight months.

Besides these, the coffee consolidation, processing, and marketing enterprise awarded to the Inhandig Tribal Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ITMPC) is also underway.

Six out of nine procurement packages have already been procured and turned over to the ITMPC.

Earlier, the DA rolled out the implementation of the MIADP, with about PHP6.6 billion in funding, primarily financed under the World Bank and counterpart contributions from the National Government and partner local government units.

The project aims to address persistent poverty among IP communities and other eligible farming and fishing communities in Mindanao. (PNA)