Unity propels coffee growers’ growth What used to be an individual undertaking is now the collective endeavor of coffee growers in Sitio Antipolo, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte. Gerry Obsid, Chairman of the Sitio Antipolo Farmers Association of Buenavista, Inc. (SAFABAI), recalls that many of the residents in the community have been into coffee farming even when he was still young. However, everyone tended to their farm on their own. It was only in September 2016 that they organized themselves upon the encouragement of the agricultural technologist assigned in their area. It was then that SAFABAI was born. Obsid shared that they really saw the difference between farming on their own from having an organization. Before, their knowledge especially on new farming technologies
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| July 10-16, 2021
was quite limited. They also lacked the necessary farm equipment since most of them could not afford to buy it on their own. They also had difficulty in marketing their produce since they did it individually.
drums, nets, sprayers, crates, and a moisture meter. They also received UV plastic which they used for the dryer they constructed. They were also given coffee dehuller and depulper to ease their post-harvest operations.
When they were already organized, various interventions from the Department of Agriculture (DA) Caraga came in. They received farm inputs including planting materials, fertilizers,
“We used to take our harvested coffee to another town for dehulling, but now that we have our own dehuller, it is easier for us because we can dehull our coffee anytime,” Obsid shared. Caraga INFOCUS
