Will tea farming be lucrative in the Cordillera?

Baguio City, Philippines – Majority of Cordillerans kick off their day with a cup of coffee. But what if there are other alternative drinks, particularly tea, would they shift to cultivating it?

This intriguing possibility comes to light with the recent strides in tea production training spearheaded by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) Baguio, in collaboration with Dominique Molintas, the author of the ‘Cordillera Corridor Tea Trade Treaty’.

In a press release Thursday, March 21, the Department of Agriculture Cordillera said the two-day training brought together 68 high value crop farmers in the Cordillera region.

Participants delved into the processes of tea production, which include planting, harvesting, withering, bruising, fixation, sealed yellowing, rolling and shaping, oxidation, drying, aging, and accelerated fermentation or wet pilling.

Introduced to the participants were various types of tea such as the white tea, green tea, yellow tea, oolong tea, black tea, and dark tea.

In his study, Molintas said that while vegetable farming became the source of income for the majority of the municipalities of Benguet, some are still left behind. Vegetable trade, he added, is also lagging behind now from other forms of resource utilization such as mining.

With this in mind, he wrote there is a need for the introduction of other high-value crops suitable for idle rough elevated terrain. One is the cultivation of tea plants, which presents a promising opportunity for Cordilleran farmers.

“We can compete if we really will pursue planting tea because what was computed in the study was the elevation, temperature, and how much idle lands are available for the planting of tea particularly in 6 areas in Benguet,” he explained.

However, he also acknowledged the need for careful consideration regarding the choice of tea variety and quality, as it will take three to five years before farmers get to see the benefits from planting and producing tea.