THREE researchers of the Cavite State University were granted research grants by the Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise project of the Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance and its partners.

They are Dr. Miriam Baltazar, Christian Joseph Baluyot, and Marjorie Ann Panerio.

Baltazar was recognized for his proposal titled “Genetic Differentiation of Coffea liberica Using SSR Marker Analysis.”

He is currently the Director for Research and Officer in Charge of the Office of the Vice President for Research and Extension.

On the other hand, Baluyot got the grant for his proposal “Challenges of Farmers Beyond the Philippine Coffee Industry Roadmap 2017-2022: Basis for Government Policies and Industry Programs.”

He is a master’s degree candidate at the CVSU Graduate School and Open Learning College.

Meanwhile, Panerio was given the grant for her proposal entitled “Investigating the Rooting Efficiency of Hard-to-Root Liberica Coffee (Coffea liberica).”

She is currently a Project Development Officer at the NCRDEC and a master’s degree candidate at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños.

The other three grant recipients are faculty researchers from the University of Southern Mindanao and Sultan Kudarat State University.

The outputs of their research will be presented at the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition or Philippine Coffee Congress in 2024.

PhilCAFE is a project funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.

It aims to strengthen national coffee research capacity within the bounds of industry institutions, universities and organizations to increase coffee production and productivity in the country and open more doors for Philippine-produced coffee in domestic and international markets.