The Department of Tourism in Davao Region (DOT-11) and the Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI-VOCA) inked a partnership Tuesday for the development of the regional coffee industry and farm tourism promotion.

In a memorandum of understanding, the DOT-11 said it is promoting agri-tourism programs and identified coffee as one of the flagship initiatives with potential for domestic and international tourism.

It specifically mentioned the “seed to cup experience” of coffee in the Mount Apo range and related coffee-producing areas in the region.

The ACDI-VOCA, on the other hand, through a cooperative agreement and funding support from the United States of Agriculture (USDA), is implementing the Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise (PhilCAFE) Project in coffee-producing regions using a market systems approach.

Tanya Rabat Tan, DOT-11 head, said they initiated the promotion of the coffee industry in the region two years ago but were hampered by the pandemic.

“We wanted to connect our products, down from the community, to link them with our tourist establishments or tourist enterprises. This is to promote the Davao brand, wherein it will be available all over Davao Region,” she said in a press briefing.

Tan said they are focused on providing livelihood opportunities at the local level for the farmers and communities.“

Part of our commitment here is to promote Davao coffee and at the same time, there is also training that we’d like to extend. We want to extend it to our partners, especially in areas where the coffee is widely grown,” she said.

The partnership is also for the promotion of the Philippine Coffee Expo on Sept. 14-15 at SMX Convention Center here.

Terrence Ryan, the PhilCAFE chief of party, said the collaboration is not limited only to the event as they will also find opportunities to work with DOT-11 and promote tourism as well.

“We believe that there’s a great relationship between coffee and tourism. We will have the biggest expo in the Philippines for coffee with international speakers talking on a whole range of topics,” he said.

Ryan said coffee is one of the social products that is widely consumed as it brings people together. (PNA)