Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise (PhilCAFE)

Despite significant progress in recent years, the Philippine coffee sector remains in need of support to realize its full potential and deliver improved livelihood opportunities to farmers throughout the country. Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise (PhilCAFE) builds on the success of the Mindanao Productivity in Agricultural Commerce and Trade (MinPACT) project and capitalizes on ACDI/VOCA’s extensive network and reputation from working in tree crops and other sectors in the Philippines for over 25 years. PhilCAFE is a investment in the coffee sector that leverages private and public capital to put the National Coffee Roadmap into action. The project empowers legacy institutions such as the Philippines Coffee Council, state universities and colleges (SUCs), private universities, and industry actors to support the sustained development of the coffee sector.

Objectives

Increase production of conventional and specialty coffee
Increase coffee exports
Build the capacity and expand service provision of coffee value chain actors

Activities and Approaches

Improve public-private coordination to promote the coffee industry
Expand extension services to increase adoption of good agricultural practices (GAP) and improved technologies
Support the establishment of nurseries and strengthen retail input agents
Increase the capacity of producer organizations as a critical link in the value chain
Improve post-harvest handling and processing to maintain quality characteristics
Facilitate agricultural lending to close the financing gap across the value chain
Leverage public and private investment to scale and sustain results
Highlight the diversity of Filipino coffee origins and facilitate linkages to specialty and conventional coffee buyers

Anticipated Results

As of November 30, 2020:

352 hectares are under improved management practices to promote improved climate risk reduction
349 individuals have accessed agriculture related financing
50 public-private partnerships have been formed since the start of the project
The value of annual coffee sales of farms and firms totaled $8,131,536

View the “Empowering Women in Coffee: The MILALITTRA Experience” video below (uploaded March 2021).