For some Talaandig farmers, coffee is a source of pride

For many small farmers, growing coffee has become a good way to earn from farming.

- YVETTE TAN

Coffee beans are the second most traded commodity in the world, and with experts warning about a global dip in production for many years now, it can be a good time to cultivate coffee, as long as one has the correct support system in place.

This has been the case for some of the members of MILALITTRA (Miarrayon Lapok Lirongan Tinaytayan Talaandig Tribal Association) Ancestral Domain from Talakag on Mt. Kalatungan in Bukidnon.

Quality over quantity

I interviewed two representatives at the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition (PCQC) 2025 earlier this year. The two representatives, both from the Talaandig tribe, were MILALITTRA Farmers Agriculture Cooperative (MILFACO) manager Joanna Dumakita and MILFACO member Fritz Nathan Dumakita. Both were on hand to receive the awards garnered by their coop members in the Arabica - Smallholder Farms category, where Carmelino Debalde, Fernando Enecito, and Jocelyn Sulatan won 8th, 9th, and 10th place, respectively.

"This is a victory for the Talaandig tribe because our efforts in cultivating coffee have been recognized," Dumakita said in Tagalog.