If there is anything brewing in Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Cebu nowadays, it is on how to make Tuburan ground coffee hot. This is not about temperature but about packaging coffee grounds to make it more competitive in the local and global market.
“We designed the label and developed the appropriate packaging for the Tuburan Coffee,” DOST Cebu Provincial Director Engr. Tristan Abando revealed.
From transparent stand-up pouch plastic packaging, Tuburan coffee now sports a more elegant black opaque, matte-finish, stand-up, zip-locked, aluminum composite plastic, Dir. Abando said.
DOST-Cebu has been shouldering the cost of the packaging materials since the initial coffee production as part of the Accelerated and Sustainable Anti-Poverty Program (ASAPP) team.
“The DOST team is continuously studying on how can we further improve the coffee packaging to extend its shelf life and to make the product world-class,” Engr. Abando added.
Engr. Abando said that improving the Tuburan Coffee packaging for the world market is one of DOST’s initial assistance that would benefit the coffee farming communities in Tuburan. ASAPP is spearheaded by the National Economic and Development Authority which convened government agencies & stakeholders to help improve and develop the local Tuburan coffee as a poverty reduction program.
DOST 7 Regional Director Edilberto Paradela pointed out that the Tuburan Coffee project is a showcase of the maximum impact of the convergence of different government agencies through ASAPP to improve an industry. Engr. Paradela cited that the significant contributions of the different government agencies and other stakeholders are very critical in making the Tuburan Coffee program successful.
DOST is currently allocating funds for the technology upgrading of the current coffee production and for further packaging improvement through its ASAPP’s counterpart program, the Community Empowerment through Science and Technology.
“Currently, the coffee production in Tuburan is still small-scale. We are now studying on how to boost its production capacity through equipment and skills upgrading,” Engr. Paradela added.
Engr. Paradela also commends the Municipality of Tuburan through Mayor Democrito Diamante, Jr. for its efforts and commitment in making this breakthrough of developing a Cebu homegrown coffee product. From a mere 500 hectares in nine barangays in Tuburan, Cebu, the industry now spread to 2,850 hectares in 16 barangays of the town.About 1,000 farmers in Tuburan, Cebu, are now enjoying the fruits of the government-assisted coffee plantation.(By S&T Media Service, DOST-VII)
