By agrimag
If there is anything “brewing” at Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Cebu nowadays, it is the initiatives for making Tuburan ground coffee hot—on the market.
By S&T Media Service, DOST-VII
DOST-Cebu is working on packaging coffee grounds to make these more competitive in the local and global market. “We designed the label and developed the appropriate packaging for the Tuburan Coffee,” DOST Cebu Provincial Director Engr. Tristan
Abando revealed.
He shared that from transparent stand-up pouch plastic packaging, Tuburan coffee now sports
a more elegant black opaque, matte-finish, stand-up, zip-locked, aluminum composite plastic
package.
DOST-Cebu has been shouldering the cost of the research on the packaging
materials since the initial coffee production as part of the efforts of
the Accelerated and Sustainable Anti-Poverty Program (ASAPP) team. ASAPP is
spearheaded by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), which convened government agencies and stakeholders to help improve and develop local Tuburan
coffee as part of the measures undertaken by a poverty reduction program.
“The DOST team is continuously studying…how [to] further improve the
[coffee’s] packaging to extend its shelf life and to make the product world-class.”
Abando added that improving Tuburan Coffee packaging for the world market is one of DOST’s initial forms of assistance that is intended to beneft coffee farming communities in Tuburan.
DOST 7 Regional Director Edilberto Paradela pointed out that the Tuburan coffee project is a showcase of the maximum impact of the convergence of different government agencies through ASAPP to improve an industry. Paradela noted that the signifcant contributions of the different government agencies and other stakeholders were very critical in making the Tuburan Coffee program successful.
The DOST is currently allocating funds for the technology upgrading of the current coffee production operations and for further packaging improvement through its ASAPP counterpart program, “Community Empowerment through Science and Technology.”
“Currently, the coffee production in Tuburan is still small-scale. We are now studying…
how to boost its production capacity through equipment and skills upgrading,” Paradela said.
He commended the municipality of Tuburan, led by Mayor Democrito Diamante, Jr., for
its efforts and commitment to making this breakthrough in developing a homegrown
coffee product for Cebu. From a mere 500 hectares in nine barangays in Tuburan, Cebu, the industry has spread to 2,850 hectares in 16 barangays of the town. About 1,000 farmers in Tuburan, Cebu, are now enjoying the fruits of the government-assisted coffee plantation.
This story appeared in Agriculture Monthly’s May 2017 issue.
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