About 400 coffee farmers will soon be using internet-based technology to monitor and manage their farms. They have the Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise (PhilCAFE) project to thank. This five-year activity is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and implemented by ACDI/VOCA in the Philippines. The country’s coffee sector is growing but remains in need of support. PhilCAFE leverages private and public capital to put the government’s Philippine National Coffee Industry Roadmap into action.
Recently, that action involved a partnership between the manufacturing company Varacco, Inc. and the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction. Through this partnership and grants provided by PhilCAFE, at least 300 smallholder coffee farmers in Cavite and 87 in Davao will access innovative technology.
Together, these partners will estalish coffee demonstration farms using the internet of things, a system of interrelated devices that transmit data over wireless internet networks. Packetworx, a social IT enterprise based in the Philippines, will handle the design and installation of the devices. Then, coffee farmers will receive training on how to monitor climate and environmental factors using the technology and improve their crop productivity. So far, farmers have completed their first round of orientation, covering coffee production and management, data gathering, monitoring, installation of the devices, and more.
PhilCAFE’s grants seek to build the investment readiness of coffee enterprises in the Philippines. By increasing long-term investment, these grants can help coffee farmers discover better livelihoods and remove constraints in coffee production, processing and trade that hold them back.
Learn more about our work in the Philippines.
Learn more about Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise.
