Some 100 proponent group members and officers of the Benguet Arabica Coffee Enterprise (BACE) convened for the first General Assembly held on April 16, 2019 at Ben Palispis Hall, Capitol, La Trinidad, Benguet.

BACE is a subproject funded under the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA PRDP) with a subproject cost amounting to P13 million. It seeks to strengthen and develop a viable Arabica coffee enterprise in the province and increase productivity and marketability of its coffee. It also aims to strengthen partnership among all coffee entrepreneurs in the province.

During the assembly, Leo M. Tibangay and Oliver T. Oliem, Managers of Kibungan Arabica Coffee Growers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (KACGMPC) and Atok Arabica Coffee Growers Marketing Cooperative (ACOGMAC) respectively, presented the BACE’s operations manual that was developed through various workshop sessions.

“This venture is an opportunity for all of us to restore and improve our production areas since more local and international business institutions are getting interested to invest in our coffee farms,” said Oliem as he explained the coffee processing procedures that are indicated in the operations manual.

After the presentation of the OM, the inducted interim officers of the BACE was presented and took their oath before Governor Crescencio C. Pacalso. Board Member Robert M. Namoro graced the oath-taking ceremony along with other officers and personnel of the Provincial Local Government Unit of Benguet and the DA.

In a message, Gov. Pacalso stressed the benefits of this enterprise especially on the production and marketing of Arabica coffee.

“Through this Enterprise, a lot of activities are connected, like farm tourism, and many issues on production and marketing will be resolved more so if everyone will follow a standard processing system,” he said.

He also urged the newly inducted officers and the members to read and implement the OM of the BACE.

“We entered into this business venture together, and hopefully we’ll go through everything and anything as one,” added Gov. Pacalso.

As the officers took their oath, Tibangay recalled the group’s four-year journey of having proposed and approved their enterprise subproject.

“We went through thick and thin for this project to be approved and now that it is finally close to implementation, I hope everyone will stand by their commitments and appreciate this project as we make progress,” shared Tibangay.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn W. Beray, Head of the I-REAP (Enterprise Development) component of the PRDP Regional Project Coordination Office – CAR, updated the PGs on the procurement status of the other goods and the building construction for the BACE.

With the KACGMPC as the lead PG, the BACE was proposed by 12 affiliate PGs namely: ACOGMAC, Abiang Community Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ACMPC), La Trinidad Arabica Coffee Producers Association (LATACPA), Tuba Benguet Coffee Growers Association, Inc. (TUBENGCOGAI), Kapangan Arabica Coffee Producers Association (KACPA), Benguet Organic Coffee Arabica Enterprises Limited, Inc.(BOCAELI), Pacso Producers of Coffee Association Inc. (PAPRCOCOAI), Bobok-bisal Organic Coffee Producers and Growers Association, Inc. (BBOACPGAI), Tublay Organic Farming Practitioners Association (TOFPA), Bakun Central Multi-Purpose Cooperative, and Banangan Coffee Growers Association.### ELVY S. TAQUIO (DA PRDP RPCO-CAR InfoACE Unit)