TECHNICAL Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Isidro Lapeña congratulated the indigenous coffee farmers in Sultan Kudarat and Bukidnon who recently finished Coffee Production Level II training.

“Congratulations to the graduates and to those who will graduate in the future. I hope that the knowledge and skills you gained from the training will increase your coffee yields and help improve our country’s coffee production,” Lapeña said.

A total of 100 indigenous people (IPs) in Brgy. Hinalaan, Nalilidan and Datuwasay in the municipality of Kalamansig in Sultan Kudarat finished the course last October 21 and 22.

They were beneficiaries of TESDA Region XII’s Project IPEACE or Indigenous People Empowered as Agriprenuer towards a Collective End and KABUHAYAN or Kape ang Bubuo ng Hangarin sa Pagyabong Program of Nestlè Philippines.

Another 150 beneficiaries from the municipalities of Lebak, Esperanza and Senator Ninoy Aquino, also in Sultan Kudarat, will finish their training on Coffee Production Level II next month.

Meanwhile, in Bukidnon, 173 beneficiaries finished their training on Coffee Production Level II under the Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) of the Bukidnon Integrated Coffee Center— Nestle Philippines.

Under the agreement, TESDA will train the beneficiaries of Nestlé Philippines initially in Bukidnon and the Province of Sultan Kudarat where 80 percent of the country’s coffee is grown.

Lapeña hopes to reach more coffee farmers in the country.

“We are hoping to implement this in some other parts of the country where coffee farming is the main source of income. We commit to bring all the necessary interventions and support to coffee farmers, workers and farm owners, and ensure their success and continuous productivity through increased yields of quality coffee beans,” he said.