mb.com.ph, August 4, 2010, 2:46 pm

The Nestle Demonstration Farm in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon is an inspiration to all coffee farmers hoping for a better life by increasing their harvests. Recently, the demo farm set a national record for posting the highest coffee yield in Philippine history.

The demo farm, also known as the Quiño Farm (after its owner, Clive Quiño), yielded 3.2 metric tons of coffee green beans per hectare, which is about ten times higher than the 0.3 to 0.4 metric tons local average. This record-setting yield was made possible through the use of high-yielding coffee seedlings which are also highly resistant to environmental stresses.

These high-quality coffee seedlings are grown with care at the Nestle Experimental and Demonstration Farm (NEDF), the premier facility in coffee farm development and production in the country. These seedlings are made available to Filipino coffee farmers who wish to increase the amount and quality of their harvests.

Nestle has decades of partnership with Filipino coffee farmers, providing seedling support, as well as training and technology transfer, to help them achieve a better livelihood. The yield of the Quiño Farm is yet another example of the company’s commitment to the welfare of the Filipino farmers. It is also an important milestone in its efforts to rehabilitate and rejuvenate the coffee industry in the Philippines.

Nestle agronomist Dr. Rose Reaño, who helped establish the farm and trained its farmers on the latest methods on coffee farming and production, says the high yield has caught the attention of other farmers in Bukidnon. “These farmers have expressed interest in coffee planting and have visited the Quiño Farm in Manolo Fortich to see for themselves,” says Reano.

STARTING A TREND. As a result of the high yield of the Quiño Farm, nearby municipalities in Bukidnon such as Pantucan and Kalilangan, have already spearheaded coffee farming programs with the help of the NEDF and Nestle agronomists.

According to Reaño, the local government in Pangantucan has begun a seedling loan donation program called “Plant now, Pay Later”. This program allows farmers to avail themselves of the coffee seedlings sourced from the NEDF in Tagum City, Davao del Norte. The local government has also initiated the very first LGU-led coffee planting program by allotting 350 hectares for coffee planting.

The municipality of Kalilangan, on the other hand, has also expressed interest in coffee farming and will start sending coffee farmers to train at the NEDF.

“After seeing the results of the demo farm in Manolo Fortich, the demand for the coffee selections used in that farm increased. Farmers from other areas in Bukidnon have expressed interest to plant coffee and learn the latest methods and technologies in coffee farming. This is only possible by training at the NEDF,” says Reano.

He also adds that other farmers from other provinces such as Cebu and Bohol have also visited the Quiño Farm, as part of plans to start their own coffee farming programs in the near future.

LEADERSHIP & FAMILY PRIDE. For Clive Quiño, owner of the Quiño Farm, the high yield of his coffee farm is a product of years of hard work, leadership, and his devotion to upholding his family name.
“My father, who is also a farmer like myself, owns one of the largest and highest-yielding sugarcane farms in the area. Eversince he was young he made sure that all his farms were clean and well maintained. He adhered to quality standards,” says Quiño, who also owns bell pepper and sugarcane farms alongside his coffee farms.

By doing the same with my farms, I am upholding a family tradition that we have preserved for many, many years,” he adds.

He is also proud that his farm has inspired other farmers to get involved in coffee planting. Most of all, he would like this to serve as an inspiration to his two children.

Quiño says that it is always fulfilling to see the results of his labor and hard work after every harvest. He believes it is equally important to exercise good leadership in coffee farming.

“I never treat the farmers as mere workers. Instead, I treat them like my partners in developing and maintaining the coffee farm. I make sure they are motivated and inspired. After all, I owe a large part of the farm’s success to them,” says Quiño.

Quiño says that the new coffee farming technologies and methods taught by the NEDF are crucial to his success.

“The NEDF in Tagum gave us good planting materials and taught us very sound and effective practices in coffee farming, development, maintenance, and rejuvenation. By applying these in our own farm, we were able to have a very rich yield,” he says.

Source: Coffee farmer sets record yield in RP