BAGUIO CITY — Around 1,200 coffee tree seedlings were planted during the Community Coffee Tree Planting Program held on June 26 at Purok 3, Barangay Happy Hollow here, to expand arabica coffee production and support the city’s circular economy initiatives.
The activity was led by Mayor Benjamin Magalong together with representatives from the European Union-Philippine Green Economy Program (EU-GEP), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO), Camp John Hay, the Baguio City Police Office headed by Col. Ruel Tagel, barangay officials led by Soriano Palunan, the Coffee Board, criminology interns from the University of the Cordilleras and community residents.
The participants planted 1,000 certified arabica coffee seedlings and 200 alnus seedlings provided by the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region.
The tree planting supports the Coffee Heritage Project in Barangay Happy Hollow, one of the farm-to-table partnership components under the city’s Circular Tourism portfolio through the Pansa-nopen Tayo program.
The project enabled the barangay to set up its own coffee processing or upcycling facility to produce its own roasted coffee beans while reducing agricultural waste.
To date, farmers from Happy Hollow recently delivered 90 kilograms of roasted coffee beans to the Newtown Hotel Group through the barangay’s coffee processing and upcycling facility. The barangay also received a coffee grinder from the EU-GEP to help improve coffee processing and add value to locally grown produce.
To sustain its operation, it is vital to boost Arabica coffee production in the community.
The coffee planting activity, which will be made an annual program, also fulfilled Mayor Magalong’s earlier commitment to provide additional manpower from the BCPO and partner agencies to help residents propagate more coffee trees and increase production.
He said a proposal has been made for Camp John Hay to allot a parcel of land for coffee tree rearing of the barangay.
“We made the request with the commitment that the lot will be devoted only to coffee trees and no illegal structures will be built,” the mayor said.
He said Camp John Hay’s support will be a big boost to the farm-to-table partnership program.
The farm-to-table partnership aims to directly connect local farmers with participating hotels, including the Newtown Hotel Group, allowing them to supply fresh vegetables, fruits, mushrooms and coffee sourced from farmer cooperatives and associations in Barangay Happy Hollow, Sto. Tomas, Dontogan and Pinsao Proper with assistance from the CVAO.
As part of the circular economy model, kitchen waste from hotels and restaurants will be collected by the city government, converted into compost and returned to farmers for crop production.
A memorandum of agreement is expected to be signed soon to formalize the pilot project.
City officials said the system will reduce postharvest losses, shorten the value chain and provide higher incomes for farmers.
The Coffee Heritage Project was launched in February through a coffee business development workshop organized by the CVAO and the EU-GEP. The initiative promotes sustainable arabica coffee production, supports local coffee enterprises and encourages circular economy practices.
The city and the EU-GEP/UNDP hope the project will create more livelihood opportunities for Indigenous families, strengthen the city’s local coffee supply and establish Happy Hollow as an important contributor to Baguio’s growing specialty coffee industry.