Coffee dev’t office seeking P2.9B in funding
By Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel, Reporter
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is seeking a P2.9-billion budget for its Coffee Industry Development Office (CIDO) for 2027 to support programs boosting the industry’s output.
Agriculture Undersecretary Jerome V. Oliveros, who heads the newly-created CIDO, said the funds will go into nursery expansion, post-harvest facilities, and additional staffing.
He said it is unlikely for the full amount to be approved because of fiscal constraints and competing priorities within the DA.
“There are other commodities, not just coffee. So we are still lobbying,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Hand-in-Hand National Investment Forum in Mandaluyong City last week.
Mr. Oliveros said the office is also exploring additional funding support from the Competitiveness Enhancement Measures Fund (CEMF).
The CEMF, established under Republic Act No. 8800, is drawn from safeguard duties collected on selected agricultural imports and is intended to help farmers and fisherfolk affected by competition from imports.
Of the proposed budget, he said CIDO is likely to request P750 million in Tier-1 funding, representing baseline costs. The remaining amount would be classified as Tier 2, which covers project expansions.
If approved, such an allocation would be a sharp increase from the P200-million budget for the coffee program this year.
Mr. Oliveros said that from the Tier-1 proposal, about P240 million could go to nursery expansion, which would allow the planting of roughly 120 million coffee trees, based on conservative scenarios.
“It’s still too far from what we’re targeting. But it won’t end there in the first year. You’ll plant again in the second year. And in the third,” he said.
Mr. Oliveros said the CIDO will prioritize the establishment and expansion of coffee nurseries in Bukidnon, Sultan Kudarat, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Sur, Benguet, and Tuburan, Cebu.
The office is also working with local government units to align coffee expansion zones with their comprehensive land use plans (CLUP).
Mr. Oliveros said this is intended to protect long-term investments in farm-to-market roads, post-harvest facilities, and input support such as fertilizer and seed from future land conversion.
“We wanted to have coffee areas under the CLUP because the government will be infusing a lot of capital,” he said. “If suddenly the land is converted to residential or commercial use, the investment will be wasted.”
