Organized for the purpose of improving the community’s access to basic goods, the Hojap Multi-purpose Cooperative has now become one of the leading coffee producers in Ifugao through the members’ hard work and determination.

“The cooperative was organized sometime in 1977 by young professionals in barangay Haliap, purposely to put up a sari-sari store since the nearest one at that time was eight kilometers away,” shared Shirley U. Tagtag, manager of Hojap MPC, in the municipality of Asipulo.

The cooperative started with 25 members which grew over time to 1,478 members at present. Some of the members even reside outside the province as far as Isabela and Nueva Viscaya.

Aside from providing lending and savings services, the cooperative operates two consumer stores that sell groceries, agricultural inputs, gas, oil, and offers catering services as well.

Bearing the brand name of Hojap Kesi’meland Coffee (originally Kesi’melan Blend), Tagtag shared that the cooperative also ventured in ground coffee processing in 2009 which eventually led to coffee consolidation and marketing in 2014.

Ever since the cooperative engaged in coffee business, Tagtag said they have been marketing their coffee products not only within Ifugao province, but also to specialty shops, cafés, and supermarkets outside the province.

Tagtag added that their engagement to coffee business have driven them to propose an enterprise subproject to the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) way back in 2015.

“We did not have the necessary data needed for the preparation of our business plan, so we were encouraged to gather baseline data from our coffee grower-members,” said Tagtag.

She added that the PRDP’s approval and procurement process were rigorous and long and there were countless documentary requirements. But finally, their hard work and determination to expand their coffee enterprise subproject is now paying off.

Hojap MPC’s upgraded coffee business is expected to be in full operation with the investments of the DA-PRDP through the Ifugao Coffee Processing and Marketing Enterprise subproject. It has a project cost amounting to P13.98 million shared by the World Bank (loan proceeds), the national government through the DA, and the Ifugao provincial government.

The enterprise is a consolidation, marketing and processing business that intends to increase farm productivity, product quality and income of coffee growers; strengthen and develop a viable Robusta coffee enterprise contributing to the development of the value chain; and to improve Ifugao coffee competitiveness and access in expanded market channel.

As part of the enterprise subproject, two coffee satellite buying stations located at barangay Pula and Camandag were constructed to facilitate easier consolidation of coffee among the coffee growers in Asipulo.

Before the approval of their enterprise subproject, local farmers have to bring their products in Haliap which is actually a two to three-hour travel from their place.

“The establishment of the  buying stations made it easier for our members in the far flung areas like Cawayan and Camandag to bring and sell their coffee produce to the cooperative,” said Tagtag.

The existing two-story building of Hojap MPC at barangay Haliap was also improved. Two additional floors were constructed for the consolidation and processing activities of the cooperative.

To date, the coffee consolidation and processing center is already completed and is expected to be turned over to Hojap MPC soon.

Aside from the infrastructures, the cooperative further received two hauling trucks, pallet stacker, generator set, trolley, packaging materials, drums, and plastic pallet, among others.

“If we look at the record before and after the implementation of this subproject, our income generally increased by 22 percent, there is also a 397 percent increase in terms of coffee suppliers, and 73 percent increase in kilograms of coffee supply,” said Tagtag.

To improve the quality of coffee being produced by their members, trainings on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) are being conducted at a regular basis.

“For the sustainability of our coffee business, we have our existing Coffee Production Loan available to our members for them to revive or maintain their coffee production as our main coffee suppliers,” said Tagtag, as she shared that the cooperative have already complied with the product standard requirements of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on their license to operate and certificate of registration.

The Hojap MPC also continues to establish linkage to various government and non-government agencies for other interventions that will improve their coffee business.

Meanwhile, Tagtag added that the COVID-19 pandemic has gravely affected their coffee business since most of their institutional buyers were not able to sustain their market.

“We are all facing marketing challenges along with our institutional buyers in this time of pandemic, so we actually have stored more or less 20 tons of coffee ready for disposal,” she said.

Without the cooperative members, Tagtag expressed they won’t be able to cope up with the challenges of this pandemic. “We are grateful to the World Bank, the DA-PRDP, and to the local government of Ifugao for helping our members, our business, and the cooperative. You are one of the valued partners of the cooperative in achieving our goals to help improve the quality of life of our members,” Tagtag said. ### Elvy Taquio Estacio (DA-PRDP)

Aerial photo of Hojap’s Coffee Processing and Consoldiation Center located at barangay Haliap, Asipulo, Ifugao.