There is always a golden opportunity in farming.
Roel Toardon of Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat tried many opportunities to earn in agriculture, but he always failed. And when the chance for him to try coffee production came, he immediately grabbed it.

“Before, I planted corn but I was just getting small harvest,” he said.
When the Masiag Farmers’ Coffee Growers’ Association (MAFACGA) accessed an enterprise subproject under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), Mr. Toardon joined the association and kick started his journey in coffee.It was his golden opportunity.

MAFACGA engaged in coffee enterprise long time ago, but with the advent of PRDP in 2014, through the help of the Provincial Local Government Unit of Sultan Kudarat, they started to think big.

Toardon, as a member, was influenced to think of the future, through seriously building the foundation of his coffee production area.

“Upon knowing that the association engaged with PRDP, I immediately offered my one hectare farm,” the farmer member noted.

With PRDP, through the subproject entitled Production and Marketing of Green Coffee Beans, farmers like Toardon were dished out with production support like quality planting materials and fertilizer and even drying equipment.

But what the farmer really appreciated with the assistance is the buying scheme that MAFACGA established.

“The hauling truck of the association picks up our produce and they have already a sure market… they are buying our dried coffee beans for a very reasonable price,” he added.
With this, Toardon was able to earn decently.

“Before, without the project and without the hands on management of the association, my earning with coffee was just enough to regain my initial capital but now, I was able to invest in other income opportunities in the farm with my earning with coffee production,” he said.

The association banks on its Mang Felipe coffee brand which was named after one of the earliest settlers who pioneered coffee growing in the area. Today, MAFACGA does not only grow coffee trees but also produce several varieties of robusta coffee that are sold as brewed, roasted, instant and green coffee.

The dried green coffee beans which are produced by farmers like Toardon are not just helping them earn income but as well deliver them to a much bigger golden opportunity. (Carl Ulysses Aguillon, RPCO 12)