One Meralco Foundation (OMF), the corporate social responsibility arm of the Manila Electric Company, has energized the post-harvest coffee bean processing facility of coffee farmers in Talakag, Bukidnon.
Meralco said t coheffee farmers now benefit from the 5-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system it has turned over to the Milalittra Farmers Agriculture Cooperative (MILFACO) whose members are from the Miarayon-Lapok-Lirongan-Tinaytayan-Talaandig Tribal Association Inc. (Milalittra), one of the indigenous groups of Bukidnon.
Energizing the production facility enables the Talaandig coffee farmers to run their pulping machine, an essential step in post-harvest production, for four hours.
By manually pulping coffee cherries at the rate of 10 minutes per kilo previously, the farmers now do so at 60 kilos per hour resulting to a 43 percent increase in income.
“With electricity, our coffee beans will be of high quality so that we can find the right buyers at a right price point. The electrification has helped us give justice to the hard work of our coffee farmers,” said Joannah Dumaquita, MILFACO general manager.
Meralco said the solar photovoltaic system was made possible by Meralco employees donations of a combined P560,000 to energize the project.
