The government has earmarked PHP50 million to support the development of Bukidnon’s coffee industry, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said Tuesday.
In a statement, Recto said the funding will be released through the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), following his recent discussions with local and indigenous coffee farmers in the province.
“Agad na tumugon si Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa pangangailangan ng ating (President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. immediately responded to the needs of our) coffee farmers. Ang bilin ng Pangulo ay suportahan natin sila mula punla hanggang merkado upang lumaki ang kanilang ani at kita (The President’s directive is for us to support them from seed to market so they can increase their harvest and income),” Recto said.
The LGSF allocation will finance the purchase of specialty coffee seedlings, agricultural inputs such as parchment and chicken manure, and materials for establishing nurseries, including nets, plastic bags, hoses, and plastic drums, according to Recto.
The assistance is part of the administration’s broader efforts to strengthen the domestic coffee industry, with PHP400.54 million also proposed to be allocated to the Department of Agriculture under the 2027 National Expenditure Program for coffee development.
“President Marcos is building a stronger Philippine coffee industry from the ground up. By investing in seedlings, nurseries, farm inputs, and market access, we can reduce imports, raise farmers’ incomes, and make Philippine coffee more competitive abroad,” Recto said.
During his Sept. 4 visit to Bukidnon, Recto, together with Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and local officials, met with coffee growers, including Indigenous farmers, at a municipal farm in Barangay Salawagan in Quezon town.
He said the province has the potential to become a major coffee-producing area given its land, climate, and hardworking farmers.
“Bukidnon has the land, climate, and hardworking farmers needed to become a major coffee-producing province. The government will help provide the investments and infrastructure necessary to turn that potential into better livelihoods and a globally competitive industry,” he said.
Bukidnon aims to increase coffee production by 200 percent by planting 10,000 hectares of Arabica coffee and achieving an average yield of 1 kg. of beans per tree.
The province also targets exporting high-quality specialty coffee within the next decade by improving farming practices, expanding market access, and developing a sustainable and reliable value chain from production to processing and manufacturing.
To support these goals, the provincial government plans to establish nurseries in its component local government units, including two facilities in Barangay Kibenton in Impasugong and Barangay Bangcud in Malaybalay City.
It will also assist farmer cooperatives and associations in establishing or upgrading nurseries in Talakag, Impasugong, Lantapan, Valencia City, and Pangantucan.
Recto said the national government would continue working with Bukidnon’s local governments to address infrastructure gaps, including the need for farm-to-market roads, to make it easier for farmers to bring their produce to commercial markets.
Education support
Meanwhile, Recto also highlighted the government’s assistance to graduating college students through the Presidential Scholars Program during his recent meeting with 155 scholars from 31 villages in Quezon town.
The 155 Presidential Scholars from Quezon represent five beneficiaries from each of the municipality’s 31 barangays and form part of the 2,320 beneficiaries identified throughout Bukidnon.
A total of 2,320 graduating college students across Bukidnon are set to receive PHP46.4 million, with each scholar getting PHP20,000 to help cover tuition balances, transportation, learning materials, and other school-related expenses until graduation.
“Hindi dapat mapurnada ang ilang taong pagsisikap dahil lamang kapos ang pamilya sa panghuling gastos. Ang tulong na ito ay tulay patungo sa graduation at sa mas magandang buhay para sa kanilang pamilya (Their years of hard work should not be wasted simply because a family cannot afford their final expenses. This assistance will bring them closer to graduation and a better life for their families),” Recto said.
More than 200,000 graduating students from about 42,000 villages nationwide are expected to benefit from the Presidential Scholars Program.
The initiative provides PHP100,000 to every village to support five college students with PHP20,000 each.
The Presidential Scholars Program forms part of the Marcos administration’s broader education agenda, alongside free tuition in state and local universities, expanded tertiary education subsidies, merit scholarships, technical-vocational training, and strengthened senior high school work-immersion programs.
The administration has also launched the Bagong Pilipinas Merit-Based Scholarship Program, targeting 20,000 scholars for School Year 2026-2027, and Project PEPA, which will connect about 490,000 senior high school graduates from Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program households with government-funded tertiary education opportunities. (PNA)
