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DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/22 February) – A Canadian coffee firm is planning to establish five coffee plantation sites in the city as part of their its expansion throughout the country, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) revealed.
Melanie Provido, high-value commercial crops coordinator of DA-XI, said Rocky Mountain Arabica Coffee Corp. is currently looking into establishing arabica coffee plantations in the city’s highland areas as Brgy. Carmen in Baguio District, Brgy. Salaysay and Brgy. Marilog in Marilog District, Brgy. Tamayong in Calinan District and Brgy. Sibulan in Toril District.
The identified barangays are among the areas suited for arabica coffee production, which require high elevation for it to grow.
“The plan will push through once we have signed a memorandum of agreement with the company and the city government,” Provido said. Both DA and the firm have already discussed the plan two weeks ago.
Arabica is the most sought after coffee variety, supposedly because it taste better and has better aroma. It is the kind of coffee served in specialty coffee shops. In Davao, arabica coffee beans cost P200 per kilogram.
The company has already established a coffee plantation in Benguet, a province in the Cordillera Administrative Region. The firm also plans to expand in other areas like Columbio in Sultan Kudarat and Kiamba in Sarangani.
“The company also wants to establish plantations where there are indigenous people,” she said, adding that the department planned to produce 100 hectares of arabica per barangay. (MindaNews)