Nestlé Philippines and the Department of Agriculture (DA) are expanding efforts to strengthen climate-resilient coffee production in Northern Mindanao, seeking to protect farmers from El Niño while reducing the country’s reliance on imported beans.
Jose Uy III, Nestlé Philippines corporate affairs head, said the company’s NESCAFÉ Plan promotes regenerative agriculture practices, including agroforestry, intercropping, composting and improved irrigation, to help farmers cope with prolonged dry spells and rising temperatures.
“We just need to prepare,” Uy said, emphasizing the importance of climate-resilient planting materials and improved farming techniques to sustain yields as weather conditions become more challenging.
The initiative also supports Nestlé’s goal of reversing the Philippines’ dependence on imported coffee, which accounts for an estimated 80% to 85% of domestic requirements.
“We want to reverse the ratio of imported versus local. We want more local,” Uy said, pointing to the company’s manufacturing facility in Cagayan de Oro, which was designed to source locally grown coffee.
The push comes as the government seeks to expand domestic production to meet demand and reduce exposure to imported supply. However, closing the gap will require substantial investment in planting areas, farm productivity and climate adaptation.
DA-Northern Mindanao regional executive director Jose Apollo Pacamalan said the government has mapped about 70% of Bukidnon’s coffee-growing areas to identify suitable sites for Arabica and Robusta cultivation.
He estimated that around 53,000 hectares of intensive coffee planting would be needed to replace approximately 55,000 metric tons of annual imports.
Pacamalan also cited an earlier government estimate that reducing dependence on imported coffee by 10 percentage points would require roughly ₱1 billion in investment.
Nestlé reported that more than 3,000 trained farmers have achieved yields of one metric ton per hectare, with some producing as much as two tons.
While these results point to potential productivity gains, scaling up local supply will depend on sustained financing, suitable planting materials, farm-level adoption and the ability to maintain yields through increasingly variable weather conditions.
