Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) and Nestlé Philippines announced their partnership to upskill workers and trainers in the agriculture sector through the Tesda registered Coffee Production Level II Program and Scholarship. This progressive Robusta coffee production training program provides enterprise-based competency training in coffee farming to aspiring agripreneurs, particularly smallholder farmers and indigenous peoples (IP).
“With this program, we will enable the farmers and our IP coffee growers to produce quality beans that are at par with the standards of Nestle Philippines. We will also be able to help them increase their yields and help them pursue a more sustainable livelihood. This partnership will scale the impact of the work we do in Tesda for the farmers and IPs. We also commit our pool of highly-skilled trainors and Tesda facilities as additional learning sites to ensure that we can accommodate as many farmer-beneficiaries as possible,” said the Tesda chief Secretary Isidro Lapeña.
Through this program, Tesda will train trainers for effective conduct of the curriculum; and provide a scholarship fund under Tesda’s Program on Accelerating Farm School Establishment so that eligible farmers can enhance their knowledge and skills in planting, maintaining and harvesting coffee. Moreover, enrollees will learn to adopt an entrepreneurial approach in managing small farm operations of one to 10 hectares, and gain the skills to effectively market their coffee beans to buyers such as Nestlé.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to help uplift the lives of Robusta coffee farmers by improving their coffee yields and incomes. Since 1962, Nestlé Philippines has been working alongside farmers to develop the coffee growing industry through a value-chain approach that emphasizes the value of multisectoral collaborations,” said Kais Marzouki, chair and CEO of Nestlé Philippines.
