Coffee, oysters, pinay farmers

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March 15, 2026 | 12:00am

Tambara, Negros Occidental, Philippines — We’re squishing our way up a muddy mountain trail in Sitio Tambara, Negros Occidental. It’s surprisingly cool, with fog and mist blanketing the tree line. There’s even a herd of horses grazing up a glade. So very Lord of the Rings.

“We planted around a hundred Robusta coffee bushes up here,” explains Johnny Percival, member of the Tambara Forest Settlers Association, a women-led people’s organization celebrating its 20th year in 2027.

“We pick only ripe and red coffee cherries, then dunk them in water to weed out floaters. Good cherries always sink. We dry and remove the pulp, then roast and grind the beans in our village. We produce fine robusta coffee with an earthy, muscovado aroma.”

With 14 women and eight men, the association champions environmental conservation through sustainable upland agriculture and related livelihood opportunities for its members – who plant high-value crops like coffee, cacao, cinnamon and various fruit-bearing trees, ranging from marang to mangoes.

“We sell our produce mostly through private orders or via trade fairs,” says association chair Ronalyn dela Vega, who formerly worked as a department store salesperson. “I didn’t consider myself a farmer at first, but I knew how to sell things to people. Now I convince customers to buy coffee and cacao instead of clothes. Our roasted beans retail for around P750 per kilo and we’ve so far had good feedback.”

Largely untapped: GAD Funds

Together with local government units from Negros Occidental, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and United Nations Development Programme’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (UNDP-BIOFIN) are working to include and mainstream Gender and Development (GAD) into government programmes.

Under the General Appropriations Act of 1995 and the Women’s Magna Carta (RA 9710), all government agencies are mandated to allocate five percent of their annual budgets for GAD initiatives. Based on the Philippines’ 2026 national budget, the GAD budget of Negros Occidental alone is in the range of P340 million.

“Stewarding our natural resources requires substantial investments. GAD is a largely untapped resource for LGUs to promote both gender equity and biodiversity conservation,” explains UNDP-BIOFIN Philippines project manager Anabelle Plantilla. “LGUs across the country can use GAD to fund local projects that help women play greater roles in sustainable upland farming, fishing and managing our vital ecosystems.”

Active in 41 countries, BIOFIN is a global UNDP initiative funded by the Global Environment Facility, European Commission and the Governments of Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Belgium, Flanders, Canada, France and the United Kingdom. It contributes to closing the financing gap for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity by identifying, accessing, combining and sequencing sources of biodiversity funding.

In the Philippines, BIOFIN is working closely with the DENR to narrow the financing gap for the implementation of the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, the country’s roadmap to conserving its biodiversity.

Farming oysters in San Enrique

Now we’re paddling down a choco-hued brackish water river in San Enrique, a local haven for oysters – evidenced by several talaba stands flanking the coastal highway. We approach several floating bamboo rafts. Suspended beneath are rows of oyster lines brimming with shellfish.

Oysters are farmed worldwide, with Asia contributing over 90 percent of global output. Oyster farming in the Philippines started over a century ago and it all began here in Negros Occidental. In 1921, the first Pinoy oyster farm sprouted up in Hinigaran. Since then, the country has been producing over 50,000 metric tonnes of oysters annually, valued at over P1 billion.

“Oyster farming can definitely be lucrative. If you’re lucky, you can earn hundreds of thousands of pesos per season,” says Juvy Guiñabo Jamaybay, chairperson of the Luguay Talaba Growers Association.

(Gregg Yan is the communicator for UNDP-BIOFIN Philippines).