The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance that seeks to amend various provisions of Ordinance No. 2, series of 2021 that sought to establish the Baguio City Coffee Council and appropriating funds for coffee industry development.
Under the proposed ordinance, it shall be a policy of the city government to assist local farmers, processors, rosters, home-grown coffee shop owners and baristas and shall organize themselves into an association or cooperative for them to avail of trainings and the use of the Baguio Coffee processing center.
However, membership to the organization shall be strictly for the local farmers, processors, roasters, home-grown coffee shop owners and baristas and not for traders or end users.
The ordinance tasked the City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) to organize and coordinate trainings for the coffee growers, processors, roasters, home-grown coffee shop owners and baristas from the different barangays of the city.
Further, the trainings shall be conducted in relation, but not limited to, farming, growing, harvesting, drying, and other related agricultural trainings.
Such trainings can be coordinated with the Department of Agriculture (DA), Technical Deduction and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and other government and non-governmental agencies.
On the other hand, non-members can avail of the shared services facility provided they pay for the use of utilities and equipment rental, or non-members can opt to apply as a member of the organization as the conduit group.
Moreover, entrepreneurship and managerial trainings and product development interventions for coffee products shall be provided by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The ordinance stipulated that the CVAO with the assistance of the DTI and other government agencies shall set up the coffee proceeding center through the shared service facility program. Other funds needed shall be sourced from other governments and other non-governmental organizations.
The coffee processing center shall accommodate planting, propagation, production of coffee, depulping, hulling, grinding, roasting, sorting, vacuum packaging, impulse selling and promotion ready for product delivery by the organization.
The ordinance encouraged the farmers and other beneficiaries to plant coffee in available areas to ensure an additional source of coffee beans and to use the coffee processing center towards a Baguio coffee brand.
The Baguio coffee processing center shall be under the stewardship of the CVAO and the Baguio City Farmers Agriculture Cooperative .
The ordinance provided for the setting up of a processing center that will distribute dispensing machines in strategic locations in the public market, parks, hotels, malls and other business areas to dispense the Baguio coffee and the same will serve as a self-generating machine to support the industry. By Dexter A. See