Baguio Farmers Café opens at Burnham Park

BAGUIO CITY – “Tinapong Shia Onjon”, a microenterprise café operated and managed by the Baguio City Farmers Agriculture Cooperative (BCFAC) in partnership with Onjon Ni Ibaloi, Inc., is now open to serve locally grown Arabica coffee.

The coffee stall formally opened September 18, 2023 located at Onjon Ni Ibaloi Heritage Garden in Burnham Park.

Marcelina Tabelin, Senior Agriculturist of the City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) said that Tinapong Shia Onjon is one of the microenterprises developed through the Coffee Processing Shared Service Facilities (SSF) project in 2021, funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in partnership with the City Government of Baguio.

The DTI-SSF Project is a private-public partnership that provides micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with machinery, equipment, tools, systems, skills and knowledge under a shared system.

Tabelin considers the opening of the café as a milestone unlocked for the BCFAC, the umbrella cooperative catering to at least 15 farmer groups and associations in the city with over 450 members to date.

“The outcomes of the Business Plan/Proposal prepared and presented to DTI 3 years ago are starting to be realized. These outcomes include microenterprise development and employment generation,” Tabelin stated.

She pointed out that while CVAO serves as the lead coordinator for urban agribusiness ventures, they may not focus on large-scale projects with multi-million-dollar budgets.

Instead, they aim to achieve sustainable and impactful economic transformation through community organizing and development, benefiting the client-beneficiaries.

“We may undergo a tedious process and a longer duration but its fruit is rewarding. The impact of the project is being felt by the poorest members of the sector, which I think is more fulfilling than a multi-million project benefitting only few rich and influential people,” Tabelin added.

Mr. Rod Paus, President of Onjon Ni Ibaloi, expressed his support for the partnership with BCFAC, which involves planting coffee trees to ensure a steady supply of raw materials for the café.

City Councilor Arthur Allad-iw who was present during the opening of the café encouraged the members of the cooperative to focus on the production and processing of Arabica coffee as it has distinct advantage over other coffee varieties grown in other coffee-producing parts of the country.

He also reiterated the importance of cooperatives in livelihood development.

There are currently 15 farmer associations in the city being assisted by CVAO through programs, trainings and services, namely, BCFAC; Pinget Rural Improvement Club; Granjeros De Oeste Organizacion, Inc.; Irisan Rabbit Farmers’ Cooperative; Lucnab 4H Club/Young Farmers Association; Barangay Happy Hallow Farmers Organization; Ditep Farmers Association; Asin Road Binnadang Smith Association; Barangay Lucnab Agriculture and Fisheries Association; Loakan Apugan Livelihood Association; Bekes Ta-ang Farmers Association; San Andreas Strawberry Growers Association; Bilis Sto. Tomas Central Farmers Livelihood Association; Maria Basa Urban Gardeners Association; and Bae-ngan Planters Association.

These farmer cooperatives and associations are situated in the following barangays: Irisan, Happy Hallow, Lucnab, Sto. Tomas Central, Pinget, Loakan Liwanang, Loakan Apugan, Camp 7, Pacdal, and Bakakeng Central.

Tabelin anticipates the expansion of agribusiness ventures for urban farmers in the city in the coming months and years.

They are actively collaborating with various government agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Agriculture Training Institute, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the DTI, to explore potential project linkages and opportunities.

“It may have taken us a long time due to the coronavirus pandemic although community organizing and development really takes time because we are more focused on the process not the end result. Because we wanted transformation among the farmer-members to make their enterprise sustainable,” Tabelin said.