Nestle unveils regenerative agri projects for coffee planters

Nestle Philippines recently launched initiatives aimed at increasing the adoption of regenerative farming among local smallholder robusta farmers to increase their production and income.

Through a partnership with the Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI), and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Nestle introduced an online certificate course and a crop calendar tailored for coffee farmers under its Project Coffee++ program, Business Mirror reported.

The course covers topics like soil regeneration and climate-smart farming practices while the crop calendar would serve as a record-keeping tool that allows farmers to track their disbursements and incomes.

Jose Uy III, senior vice president and head of corporate affairs of Nestlé Philippines, said these initiatives mark the importance of making regenerative agriculture a crucial part of how farmers grow coffee and other produce. 

The ultimate target is to match Vietnam’s output of 2 metric tons (MT) per hectare, which some farmers have already achieved through the practice of regenerative agriculture. 

“We hope that by 2025, at least 20 percent of the farmers should already practice regenerative agriculture,” Uy  told  the media in Makati last Friday.

“The ideal scenario is to hit the 2 metric ton per hectare. But for now, let’s commit first to the 1 metric ton per hectare and then let’s see how we can grow even more.”

Nestlé Philippines said its farmer training program aims to educate 1,500 more smallholder coffee farmers tilling an average of one to two hectares of farmland in Bukidnon and Sultan Kudarat.

It added that the program builds on its predecessor, the Project Coffee+, which helped 1,500 participating farmers from the same region to triple their yields and income since it began in 2018. 

Nestle said that from an average of 235 kilos of green coffee beans per hectare in 2018, Project Coffee+ participants achieved an average harvest of 886 kilos in 2023. Some of the farmers that the company trained were able to produce 1 MT per hectare. 

Regenerative agriculture improves biodiversity and protects soil fertility by restoring the land’s nutrients. 

Among these regenerative farming practices are composting, agroforestry, cover crops, and intercropping.