Agriculturists and farmers in Negros Occidental recently participated in the Package of Technology seminar on coffee production at the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement training center in Bago City.

Edna Garde, manager of the Farmers' Information and Technology Services Center of the Negros Occidental Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, said the seminar discussed the coffee industry in Region VI, types of coffee trees and varieties, plant propagation, and environmental conditions of coffee.

The participants were also trained in the establishment of coffee nursery and plantation and its maintenance, insect pests and diseases, harvest and post harvest processing, and quality standards of coffee and its cost and return of investment, she said.

Garde said there is a need to train farmers and agriculturists on the production quality of coffee because its demand in the international market is increasing.

Ramon Uy Jr. president of Organic Na Negros! Organic Producers and Retailers Association, and the producer of Mt. Kanlaon coffee, spoke on the market potential of coffee at the seminar.

He said Negos Occidental is marketing three types of organic coffee in the domestic and international markets, and these coffee types are produced in Mt. Kanlaon and in the highlands of La Castellana and La Carlota. These have been introduced in the international conferences. Garde said she hopes that local coffee, growers and farmers in Negros will improve its production and find their market niche to bring fame to organic products of Negros.

The Agricultural Training Institute of Western Visayas sponsored the seminar in coordination with the OPA and had Dr. Eden Bautista of ATI as facilitator. *LTG

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