MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon — The Indigenous Peoples (IP) community of Daraghuyan Ancestral Domain here, home to award-winning Bukidnon coffee producers, is set to benefit from ₱97.91 million worth of agricultural infrastructure, enterprise development, and water and irrigation investments under a World Bank-funded initiative implemented by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Through the Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project (MIADP), the investments aim to strengthen the coffee value chain of the Bukidnon tribe by improving farm-to-market access, post-harvest handling, processing capacity, and access to essential agricultural services.
Implemented in partnership with the City Government of Malaybalay, the package covers two farm-to-market road projects worth a combined ₱51 million; a ₱10.45-million multi-commodity warehouse and multipurpose drying pavement; a ₱14.76-million coffee consolidation, processing, and marketing enterprise; a ₱4.1-million Level 2 potable water system; and a ₱17.6-million ram pump and gravity-fed irrigation system.
“These investments are intended to sustainably increase agricultural productivity, resilience, and access to markets and services. The Daraghuyan Indigenous community has demonstrated strong potential in the coffee industry, and its wholehearted cooperation has helped make these interventions possible,” said MIADP Project Director Macario Gonzaga.
MIADP is a ₱6.6-billion initiative implemented by the DA, with financing primarily from the World Bank and counterpart contributions from the National Government and partner local government units. It seeks to address persistent poverty among Indigenous Peoples and other eligible farming and fishing communities in Mindanao by supporting climate-resilient, market-oriented, and culturally appropriate agricultural development.
Gonzaga also acknowledged the support of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the members of the Regional Project Advisory Board, and partner institutions in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in advancing the project’s implementation.
Improving farm access and coffee processing
Infrastructure development is already underway. The concreting of the two-lane Sitio Damitan–Sitio Ulanguhon Farm-to-Market Road has reached 65.63% physical accomplishment. Meanwhile, the second road project, covering Sitio Ulanguhon to Sitio Suopon in Barangay Dalwangan, has undergone bidding, with its bidding documents under review.
The two post-harvest facilities—the multi-commodity warehouse with multipurpose drying pavement and the coffee processing facility—were recently launched and are expected to be completed within eight months.
These facilities are expected to help farmers improve the handling, drying, consolidation, and processing of their produce, while better road access can help reduce transport difficulties between farms and markets.
The coffee consolidation, processing, and marketing enterprise awarded to the Inhandig Tribal Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ITMPC) is also progressing. Six of its nine procurement packages have already been procured and turned over to the cooperative.
These include an all-weather solar dryer, a delivery truck, a sorting table, hauling animals, a computer unit, and a printer. The enterprise package also provides nearly ₱700,000 in working capital to purchase coffee cherries from member-suppliers, helping strengthen the cooperative’s capacity to consolidate supply and support its farmer-members.
Award-winning coffee from Daraghuyan
The investments build on the community’s growing reputation for producing high-quality Arabica coffee, with its farmers earning recognition in national and regional competitions.
In the 2026 Philippine Coffee Quality Competition (PCQC), Bae Masulakamit Gloria D. Lagawan won first place in the Arabica Washed category and received a Special Citation for Best Processing in the Washed Arabica category.
Daraghuyan coffee producers also earned distinctions in the 2026 Southeast Asia Green Coffee Competition’s Philippine National Round. ITMPC farmers Datu Magtatangka Regino D. Omarol and Bae Masulakamit Gloria D. Lagawan placed second and sixth, respectively, in the Arabica category, scoring 88.08 and 87.42.
In the 2025 PCQC, tribal chieftain Adelina Tarino, also known as Bae Inatlawan, secured second place in the Arabica category with a score of 82.94.
These achievements underscore the community’s potential to compete in specialty coffee markets, where quality, processing, and consistency can help distinguish producers and create opportunities for better market returns.
With improved infrastructure and enterprise support, MIADP seeks to help translate the community’s coffee quality into stronger market access and more sustainable livelihood opportunities for Indigenous farmers. Sherwin B. Manual/DA-MIADP