The development partners of Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), the World Bank (WB) and European Union (EU) team, enjoyed the aromatic coffee of the Bagobo Tagabawa tribe of the Tibolo Farm Workers Association (TIFWA) during the I-REAP subproject visit in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur on the last day of the 15th WB ISM to PRDP.

TIFWA’s green coffee beans processing and marketing enterprise project is worth P18.4 million funded by the EU. EU head of Cooperation Christoph Wagner said he is happy that the EU together with the WB through PRDP can support the project of TIFWA. I think it is a very ambitious project but it shows that you can go a long way together. Looking forward to come back and see its progress maybe in a year,” added Wagner. WB task team leader Mio Takada highlighted some good practices of the association.

Among its members, 90 percent are females because most of the males are working in the farm. The female members were trained how to dry and sort the cacao beans and to roast the coffee.

“I really enjoyed your coffee with a very good taste,” Takada also said, Regional Executive Director of DA-XI and the Program Director of PRDP-Mindanao also encouraged the Bagobo Tagabawa tribe to be grateful for the project, to safeguard the project, and to embrace the project. “If we do this all, this project will become successful,” said RED Monteagudo.

The long dream of the tribe will soon be realized with the intervention from PRDP such as construction of the coffee warehouse, solar dryer and other postharvest facilities, hauling truck and a start-up capital. Rey Antic, the president of TIFWA and Jecirey Antic, the Marketing manager of TIFWA, can only say the words, “thank you PRDP!” (Janelle T. Flores, InfoACE 11)