Translations

FIGARO COFFEE helps local farmers and saves the Barako coffee bean from extinction

5. Fair Operating Practices

Responsible purchasing

Sector Food-processing

Year 2010

Country Philippines

Transmitter

Context

In 1993, Figaro started as a non-government organization of seven friends who wanted to share their passion for brewing, tasting and experimenting with many varieties of coffee from around the globe. Their hobby turned into a business and now the firm currently ranks as the No. 1 Filipino coffee company to date with its primary aim to help local coffee farmers in the country by engaging them in contract farming and introducing organic coffee farming.

Coffee growing became so profitable for the country that the Philippines became the fourth largest coffee-producing nation in the 19th century. At that time, the country was exporting more than US$150 million worth of coffee worldwide. Coffee enjoyed immense popularity as the crop of choice but the euphoria was cut short by "Coffee Rust," a blight or infestation, which virtually wiped out the Philippine coffee industry. Unable to keep up with worldwide demand, Latin American countries eventually took over, and have since retained their stronghold on the global coffee market.

Figaro has been at the forefront of helping the local coffee industry, and putting the country back on the map of the world's top coffee producing nations. “Save the Barako,” is one of Figaro’s main campaigns and was established to boost production of this nearly extinct coffee bean and provide aid to the country’s last remaining local coffee growers.

Objectives

To boost the Filipino coffee industry by working closely with local farmers and by reviving the production of the Barako coffee bean

APPROACH

Figaro work very closely with the Philippine National Coffee Development Board (PNCDB) which is an industry association dedicated to developing and promoting the Philippine Coffee Industry. They provide services such as research, technical assistance, and credit programs. These services contribute to the development, expansion, and rehabilitation of coffee farms, millers and roasters. The association also works on the marketing and promotion of coffee for domestic and export markets.

For small local farms, Figaro provide a lot of technical assistance and whose produce never get to the mainstream market due to lack of marketing contracts or lack of economies of scale for logistics. They buy directly from these farmers, eliminating the middle players, which then benefits farmers in terms of pricing. Figaro also helps educate farmers on how their coffee can be more marketable to buyers. One way the company is doing this is by teaching farmers to grow coffee organically and helping them achieve international organic certification.

Through their actions with local farms, Figaro has successfully pioneered in helping the Barako recover from the verge of extinction, and is currently working with both government and non-government entities to help revitalize the Philippines' coffee industry. Barako is the only indigenously Philippine coffee bean, which thrives in the country's tropical climate with relatively abundant rainfall and gentle winds. In fact, Barako (or Liberica), is a rare and exotic variety as it grows in only 3 of the 70 coffee-producing countries around the world.

CONTRIBUTION TO COMPANY PERFORMANCE

More affordable quality coffee sets them apart from competition
Combining marketing with a concern for social development

Benefits

Relationship with local producers has boosted the Philippine’s coffee industry and economy
Preservation of a rare variety of coffee bean which contributes to the country’s biodiversity