DAVAO CITY­—A Canadian firm is set to develop the country’s coffee business with a P1-billion investment plan to establish one of the major coffee complexes in Columbio town in Sultan Kudarat.

The coffee complex would be funded by the Canadian firm Rocky Mountain Arabica Coffee Corp. (RMACC), which entered into an agreement for a still- undisclosed amount for the establishment of the complex with the municipal government and the Columbio Municipal Employees Cooperative, according to the Department of Agriculture-Regional Agricultural and Fisheries Information Division (DA-Rafid).

 The coffee complex would be the biggest project in the municipality this year, said Columbio Mayor Amirh M. Musali.

Musali, RMACC President Pierre Yves Cote and Cecilio C. Mejia, president of the employees cooperative, signed the tripartite joint agreement on the coffee-production project on January 30.

RMACC was developing complexes and coffee-production areas in Baguio and Cagayan de Oro, and was reported to be investing P1 billion to develop the industry in the country.

DA Regional Director Amalia Jayag-Datukan said the Davao region was the No. 1 coffee producer in the country last year, producing 28,502.96 metric tons, with Sultan  Kudarat the largest producer among the other Cotabato provinces.

“We need to bring Sultan Kudarat, particularly the municipality of Columbio, to reach the global market. If we have our brand name known in the Philippines and in the world, then we have a good chance of making it,” she said.

Datukan turned over assorted fruit and vegetable seedlings, including farm machinery and facilities, to the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion, intended for its units that maintain barangay defense systems in the localities.

Total donation was valued at P1.695 million. 

“This amount was granted to the Philippine Army under the AgriPinoy High-Value Crops Development Program,” she said.

Projects could be availed of through project proposal,” Datukan said. 

The donation consisted of 12 kilograms of vegetable seeds from the DA research outreach stations (ROS); 15,000 pieces of assorted fruits from the DA Balindog ROS; and 10,000 cacao seedlings from the Amas-CEMIARC ROS.

The donated equipment included one small farm equipment, 11 sets of farm implements, 22 pieces of plastic water drums, 2,000 meter of pipes, 22 sprayers, one nursery rehabilitation, and four draft animals.

Army First Lt. Maria Leviste said the beneficiaries of these farm equipment and seedlings were members of the barangay defense system in Columbio.