MILAN – Nestlé Philippines has increased its local purchase of Robusta coffee beans by 27% this crop year taking advantage of higher than expected crop yields during the season and exceeding the volumes it originally planned to buy.
As the biggest local manufacturer in the Philippine coffee industry, Nestlé produces its Nescafé brand at its Cagayan de Oro factory.
Through its Nescafé Plan, Nestlé is engaged in long-term efforts to create a positive impact on the lives of the country’s Robusta coffee farmers by improving their yields and incomes.
Last year, the company updated the criteria for its local procurement of coffee beans while preserving the quality of its Nescafé brand. Its Nescafé Classic, for instance, has only one ingredient: green coffee. During its manufacturing process, only green coffee and water are used. And with no additional ingredients, Nescafé Classic is 100 percent pure coffee.
This new criteria makes is easier for farmers having business deals with Nestlé Philippines to sell their coffee beans at greater volume. Processing time has been cut down, increasing frequency of delivery. The workload of farmers likewise has been reduced, particularly in harvesting, drying, and sorting produce.
According to Nestlé Philippines Chairman and CEO Kais Marzouki, the company is constantly pursuing efforts to support Filipino coffee farmers who are in need of assistance from various stakeholders, especially consumers. He emphasized that when consumers buy locally manufactured products with raw materials grown in the country, they are in fact helping Filipino coffee farmers.
Driven by a flagship education and training initiative of the Nescafé Plan called Project Coffee+, the yields and incomes of 1,500 beneficiary farmers in Bukidnon and Sultan Kudarat have increased. On average, production by participating farmers has doubled, while incomes have tripled, as independently verified by the Rainforest Alliance.
Nestlé has been supporting Filipino farmers since 2008, providing various forms of technical assistance and training on Nescafé Better Farming Practices, including Coffee Production Technology Training and modules from the global Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C). The company has trained an average of 7,000 Filipino farmers per year since 2012.
“With NESCAFÉ as the biggest domestically produced coffee brand in the Philippines, we are buying as much coffee as we can locally, and are increasing our direct purchasing from farmers and cooperatives. As we help generate livelihood opportunities, we offer a ready market for Robusta coffee farmers based on world market prices.
“Through all kinds of times, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic, we stand in solidarity with Filipino coffee farmers. We look forward to continuing our partnership with them to uplift lives while improving coffee production in the country, in close cooperation with other stakeholders in the public and private sectors,” Mr. Marzouki said.
