How regenerative farming is transforming Sultan Kudarat's coffee industry

Nestled in the rolling hills of Sultan Kudarat, 58-year-old Edwin Batilo tends to his five-hectare coffee farm each day with pride and a renewed sense of direction. He has been farming for 11 years.

- By ALDEN MONZON

A few years ago, his farm struggled with low yields and limited income. Today, regenerative farming practices have more than doubled his harvest and helped his cooperative expand, providing stable income for dozens of smallholder families.

"For one hectare, I average about 1,300 kilograms of coffee," Batilo said, a marked improvement over the 500 kilograms of coffee beans he harvested the previous year, before he learned about regenerative farming practices.

Nearby, 45-year-old Pong Anguling has also been cultivating coffee, having done so since 2001, and manages two hectares of his own farm.

Anguling's farm requires about P50,000 annually for seeds, fertilizer and labor, bringing in roughly P150,000 in income.

"The challenge with coffee farming is you need to prune and fertilize it," he said, illustrating the laborious nature of the work.

He added that they still harvest coffee by hand, a process that requires around 20 people to pick the beans at the right time.

Both Batilo and Anguling harvest their coffee between September and December, sometimes extending into January and February.

Cups of progress

The two are among more than 3,000 coffee farmers in the province who have benefited from Nestlé Philippines' coffee accelerator program since it began in 2018.