‘COFFEE FOR PEACE’ IS A MAJOR PARTNER OF THE 2013 DAVAO TRADE EXPO

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Joji Pantoja presents Peace Theology as the framework for Coffee For Peace. Around 1000 participants from various agribusiness companies participated in the 2013 Davao Trade Expo. Photo by Bryan Jay Paler, PAR MetroManila.

17-19 October 2013, Davao City. Coffee for Peace (CFP) took the lead as the major partner of the 2013 Davao Trade Expo (DaTE 2013) for the coffee industry. The theme of the 15th DaTE was Empowering the Farmer: Engage. Enable. Excite. It is the biggest agribusiness expo in Mindanao and is spearheaded by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCCI). This year’s expo was held at the SMX Convention Center, Lanang, Davao City.

DaTE 2013 focused on the “golden crops of agriculture,” namely cacao, coconut, coffee, corn and cassava. The said crops have an increasing demand not only locally but as well as in the international market. This expo brought together global and national speakers and specialists to provide essential ideas, best practices, and updates on agricultural standards, emerging markets and build business relationships among agriculture players. It has also provided the platform to discuss on availability of products and technology in the local market, matching of local market to the international market, addressing various socio-political issues affecting the agriculture sector at present and conference of the best practices of the concerned industry.

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Joji Pantoja and Eddie Isada were major plenary speakers. Dawn Pates was the facilitator for the CFP workshop. Coffee For Peace is a major partner in Davao Trade Expo 2013. Photos by Byron Pantoja, CFP.

Joji Pantoja (CFP’s Chief Operating Officer), and Pastor Eddie Isada (CFP’s Plantation Management Consultant) were two of the seven speakers for the said conference. Joji began her presentation by sharing Peace Theology as the framework for CFP operations. She also shared the CFP experience in the value chain approach to coffee business. Finally, she explained the core values of CFP which are:

  • transparency in partnership with the farmers;
  • protection of our environment;
  • empowerment of the community;
  • peace in our home, community and our land; and,
  • excellent quality of products and services.

After all the inspirational coffee business stories, one of the most awaited part of the program was the technical aspect of coffee production which was well explained by Pastor Eddie. When the session ended, a lot of farmers and interested participants went to Pastor Eddie to get his contact number for training events in the near future.

The break-out session for the coffee industry was attended by around 200 people coming from all walks of life and yet interested in the coffee industry. CFP’s marketing coordinator, Dawn Albert Pates, facilitated the break-out session.

Originally founded by PeaceBuilders Community as a conflict transformation space in the field, CFP has been growing as a community of conscientious individuals who are passionate about business-for-profit, addressing social issues that concerns the farmers, the environment, and the peace situation in our land by advocating Fair Trade in the coffee industry.

CFP looks at fair trade as a business approach to achieve justice and peace in our society and in our environment.

Coffee For Peace, as a business corporation and as a community, includes:

  • A Board of Directors who are made up of business executives, community leaders, creative communication professionals, and academics.
  • A management team led by a business talent with 20 years of world-class financial planning experience in Canada. She is a degree holder in Food Service Administration and a coffee connoisseur.
  • The wisdom, knowledge, and experience of a team of dedicated agricultural engineers and agriculture specialists with a combined experience of more than 75 years.
  • A community-network of well-trained and justly-treated farmers who supplies us with their produce at fair traded prices.

Since the inception of CFP in 2008, the company has been gaining many awards and recognition because of its efforts in addressing the social issues that concerns the farmers, the environment, and the peace situation in our land.

Reported by Dawn Albert Pates, CFP Marketing Coordinator

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2013/10/coffee-for-peace-is-a-major-partner-of-the-2013-davao-trade-expo/

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