Agriculture Business Week

Sagada, Mt. Province — One of the promising industrial crops with a bright future in the Cordillera highlands is more than a century old. It’s Arabica coffee, an ancient coffee variety which has excellent aroma and liquor taste, according to Thomas Killip, presidenticrl assistant for the Cordillera.

Research done by his office showed that Arabica typica, the variety originally drown in the Cordillera for the past one hundred years, is not only the best variety but also the oldest mother plant from which all other Arabica strains have emanated. It was introduced by the Spaniards during the Spanish colonial era. In fact, some of the first Arabica typica trees still exist today.

The book Practical Guide for Quality Coffee Arabica Production in the Cordillera published by the Cordillera Integrated Agricultural Research Center of the Department of Agriculture affirms Killip’s claim. The book noted that of the several varieties and cultivars of coffee, Arabica typica and bourbon-now widely grown in Benguet and Mt. Province-have the best aroma and taste.

It also reported that the following mutants emerged from these two varieties: Caturra, a compact form of bourbon; Maragopipe, a mutant Arabica typica with large beans; San Ramon, a dwarf Arabica typica; and Purpuracens, an Arabica with purple leaves.

Other cultivars are Blue Mountain, grown in Jamaica and Kenya; Mundo Novo, a cross between A. typica and bourbon originally grown in Brazil; Kent, originally grown in India; Catuia, a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra; Catua-amarelo; Catuia-vermelho; Hibrido de Timor, a cross between Arabica and Robusta; and Catimor, a cross between Caturra and Hibrido de Timor.

Grown organically, Arabica typica is currently grown by highland farmers as a backyard crop. But for Killip, if he
had his way, he would have every unutilized space in the Cordillera highlands planted to Arabica coffee because this variety commands the highest price in the world market today.

Good for him because Benguet, Mt. Provinced and the highland areas of Kalinga, Abra, and Apayao are the most extensive areas in the country where Arabica thrives. These provinces are
known to possess the right natural conditions in terms of altitude, climate, and soil –for growing Arabica. This is why the big players in coffee production and processing have already started coming the region, says Killip.

He added that since his office was involve in the launching of the campaign for the development of the Arabica coffee industry in the region, the price of the Arabica green beans “have spiralled dramatically.” For example, the price of a kilo of green beans two years ago was P70 but now it’s P180-P200. Ground coffee on the other hand, was sold two years ago at R200 per kilo but now, “somebody is willing to [pay] P600 per kilo for a steady supply of ground Arabica coffee.”

Aside from Arabica, the climate in the Cordillera is also favorable for the production of commercial varieties Excelsa, Liberica, and Robusta. The four varieties can be grown in various elevation ranges of Abra. In Benguet and Mt. Province, Arabica, Excelsa, and Robusta grow best, while in Ifugao, Kalinga, and Apayao, Arabica and Robusta thrive best.

Besides the favorable agronomic characteristics of Arabica, Killip was convinced of the potential of this crop after he visited Cali, a region in Columbia where Arabica is also being grown. He said that Cali is very much like the Cordillera in terms of terrain, temperature, and elevation.

“The inhabitants of Cali grow the same Arabica coffee that we grow here. The type of land tenure in the area are similar to ours,” Killip shares.

The strength of the coffee growers in Cali, continues Killip, is that “the entire region is [managed by a cooperative]. The coffee growers’ cooperative in the region runs like a government within a government. They have huge funds
enough to take care of the education and medical needs of farmer-members. Aside from farming, the coffee farmers’ cooperative [also manages] the regions hotels, restaurants, trucking, and other industries.”

Killip’s office, in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture, National Irrigation Administration, Benguet State University, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and other government agencies, is spearheading the formation of municipal coffee councils and federate these into provincial and even regional coffee council.

The main task of the councils is to develop and recommend appropriate policies and production and marketing strategies for the Arabica coffee industry in the Cordillera. To date, interim coffee councils were already formed in Benguet, Mt. Province, and Ifugao.

The Arabica coffee industry in other countries is well developed compared to Cordillera’s, but Killip is undaunted with this reality for he sees hope. “There is already a wealth of research, knowledge, and experience on Arabica coffee that we could tap to build the foundation of our own Arabica coffee industry in the region,” he concludes.