|
GOOD coffee starts with a good harvest and good harvests begin with
good farming methods. Nescafe, the country’s leading coffee brand,
pays homage to the people who make good coffee possible—the
Filipino coffee farmers—in its 70th anniversary coffee table book,
Kapihan—A Celebration of Coffee in the Philippines.
Images and essays about the Filipino farmers’
contribution are contained in the 160-page book, written by
respected food writer Noel Syquia and top photographer Neal Oshima.
In the book’s Introduction, in fact, Nestlé
Philippines, Inc. chairman and CEO Nandu Nandkishore says that
Kapihan is dedicated not only to all the coffee lovers who have
contributed to the success of Nescafe, but the Filipino farmers as
well.
Decades of partnership
For more than 40 years, Nescafe’s partnership
with the Filipino coffee farmers has resulted in the enlivening of
the country’s coffee-farming industry through programs and
platforms that improved farmers’ crops, yield and income.
It currently sources its coffee from around
30,000 Filipino farmers and deals with 300,000 other people in the
country who are in one way involved in the planting, harvesting, or
processing and trading of coffee.
Nescafe has established coffee-buying stations
in key coffee-producing areas in the Philippines. Here, farmers can
sell their green coffee beans directly at current world market price
and get paid within eight hours of delivery. Farmers can also get
free coffee-farming literature such as handouts and farm booklets.
Leading expertise
As one of the largest producers of soluble
coffee in the world, Nescafe continuously extends assistance to
coffee-producing countries by the distribution of improved planting
materials to countless coffee growers across the globe.
Its Nestlé Centre Research and Development
Tours in France, in fact, is the leading force in knowing about all
aspects of the coffee plants.
In the Philippines, its Nestle Experimental and
Demonstration Farm (NEDF) has contributed immensely to the
propagation of good coffee farming methods in the country.
To date, the NEDF provides 80 percent of all
Robusta coffee cuttings in the Philippines. In the last five years
alone, in fact, it has distributed hundreds of thousands of coffee
seeds, seedlings and root cuttings.
Nescafe has also been at the forefront of
developing products that address the market’s changing needs and
preferences. Recently, for example, it introduced the Body Partner
Range—a range of deliciously healthy coffees designed to
complement its consumers’ healthy diet and lifestyle.
It is also at the forefront of educating the
public on the many health benefits of coffee, particularly as a good
source of antioxidants.
Decades of success
Nescafe has also led programs and initiatives
that contributed immensely to the coffee industry.
Its coffee-based sustainable farming system, for
example, helps farmers increase their income by encouraging the
planting of other crops alongside coffee.
This provides farmers an alternative income
while they wait for the coffee-harvesting season. It also gives them
the option to wait for the best time to sell their crops and avoid
harvesting of premature beans.
The company is also at the forefront of the
Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SA1), which aims, among
other things, to improve farmers’ productivity through attractive
livelihood programs.
SAI involves the key players in the food
industry, government agencies and nongovernment organizations
involved in meeting the country’s food requirements.
Kapihan—A Celebration of Coffee in the
Philippines is available in Fully Booked, Powerbooks and National
Bookstore.
(For reservations, you may contact Claudine
Camagay or Melody Gocheco at 02-8115876 or email them through cindy@artpostasia.com.
You can also check www.artpostasia.com/ourservices/books/kapihan.html.)
|
