CFP IS A MEMBER OF THE NEWLY-ESTABLISHED ‘PHILIPPINE COFFEE COUNCIL’
Joji Pantoja, CEO of Coffee For Peace Corp., is now a member of the Philippine Coffee Council. CFP Corp., being a national enabler for the coffee farmers, has been chosen to be part of this Council. Joji is also the chairperson of the Greater Davao Regional Coffee Council.
The idea of organizing a national council for the coffee industry began during the Philippine Coffee Conference in Baguio City last November 2016. It was the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) who drafted a proposal for the creation of a Philippine Coffee Council together with the Department of Agriculture (DA) under a Presidential Executive Order. The purpose was to increase production, to improve productivity, and to improve quality of the coffee industry in the Philippines.
The Philippine Coffee Council will serve as the national coordinating body that will consolidate the efforts of all government agencies concerned with the enhancement of the coffee industry in the country. Unlike the already existing Philippine Coffee Board, a private organization which primarily helps in the promotion of coffee products in the country, the newly-established Philippine Coffee Council will be a government-based institution composed of selected stakeholders and players that are involved with the coffee supply chain — from farm production, primary processing, marketing, trading, secondary processing, finance, research and development.
DTI aims for “a cost-competitive, quality-driven, supply-reliable, product-diversified value chain from farming.” This coffee roadmap targets to increase production and improve farmers’ living through high value agriculture. This council is determined “to increase rural employment, lessen coffee bean and coffee products importation, and to promote environment-friendly technologies.”
We, at PeaceBuilders Community, Inc., are so delighted to see our sister organization, Coffee For Peace Corp., to be an active part of the nationalization of the coffee industry in the Philippines. CFP’s participation in this Council is part of our advocacy:
:: To protect and enhance the environment
:: To walk with the farmers as they strive to improve their lives