Business · Philippines Bureau
Agusan del Sur pursues specialty coffee to revive logged highlands
Provincial officials in Agusan del Sur are promoting upland coffee cultivation as an economic development strategy for remote mountain communities previously impacted by logging and slash-and-burn agriculture. Local leaders believe the specialty crop can provide sustainable livelihoods while rehabilitating degraded forest lands.
LSN Philippines ·
SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — Provincial officials are charting a new economic course for isolated mountain villages in Agusan del Sur, turning to specialty coffee production as an alternative to destructive land-use practices that have long plagued the region's highlands.
Local government leaders, including Agusan del Sur 2nd District Rep. Adolph Edward Plaza, toured Barangay Padiay this week to assess prospects for expanded coffee cultivation on denuded slopes. The initiative represents a strategic shift toward sustainable agriculture in areas previously subjected to intensive logging operations and subsistence farming methods.
Proponents argue that specialty coffee production offers multiple advantages for upland communities: viable income sources for smallholder farmers, environmental restoration through reforestation efforts, and reduced pressure on remaining forest ecosystems. The crop's suitability to highland growing conditions has positioned it as a commercially viable option for the region's geographic and climatic characteristics.
The provincial government's commitment to coffee development reflects broader recognition that economic sustainability and environmental recovery must advance together in logged-over territories. If successful, the initiative could serve as a model for transforming other degraded upland areas across Mindanao into productive agricultural zones that benefit local populations.