BAGULIN, LA UNION — For years, coffee farmers in the highlands of Bagulin had a familiar problem: growing the beans was only half the battle.
The harder question was what happened after the harvest.
Limited processing facilities, transportation costs and access to stable buyers made it difficult for small farmers to capture more value from the coffee they produced. That equation is now beginning to change.
The turning point came with the development of a local coffee-processing facility in Barangay Libbo, giving the Baguionas Farmers and Coffee Growers Association (BFCGA) a way to process more of its harvest closer to where the coffee is grown.
The 78-square-meter facility, funded at about ₱2.9 million under Republic Act 7171, broke ground in November 2024 and was completed in May 2025. It was formally turned over to the farmers on September 4, 2025.
FROM RAW BEANS TO A MARKETABLE PRODUCT
The significance of the facility goes beyond having another government-funded building in the mountains.
It allows farmers to move further along the coffee value chain.
Instead of simply selling raw harvests, the association can roast, grind and package coffee closer to the farms—giving local producers greater control over quality, branding and market access.
The BFCGA has 33 farmer-members managing about 30,550 coffee trees across 30.55 hectares of steep terrain. The association has been reported to produce roughly 400 kilograms of green coffee cherries annually, while supplying beans to establishments in San Juan.
The numbers may still be modest compared with major coffee-producing areas, but the direction is significant: Bagulin is attempting to build an industry where farmers earn not only from planting and harvesting, but also from processing and selling a finished product.
THE PRICE OF COFFEE IS CHANGING TOO
That shift is already being reflected in farmers’ earnings.
Lapicto Bugtong, a longtime coffee farmer and president of the BFCGA, told the Philippine Information Agency that farmers who once sold their beans for around ₱30 per kilogram have seen prices reach about ₱300 per kilogram, with assistance from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
That does not mean every farmer automatically earns ₱300 per kilogram for every type or grade of coffee. Rather, the figure illustrates what can happen when farmers improve quality, processing and market positioning.
And that distinction matters.
The real opportunity is not simply producing more coffee. It is producing coffee that can command a better price.
QUALITY IS BECOMING THE NEW COMPETITIVE EDGE
Bagulin’s coffee story began gaining momentum several years ago.
According to PIA, farmers led by Bugtong harvested their first batch of Robusta coffee in 2020. By 2023, the Baguionas Farmers Association had achieved specialty-grade classification for the third time at the Philippine Coffee Expo.
The DTI has also been working with coffee farmers in Bagulin, San Gabriel and Santol on scientific coffee profiling and green-bean grading.
The February 2025 initiative included blind cupping, flavor profiling and consultations designed to help farmers improve quality and meet recognized industry standards. DTI said the effort was intended to open better market opportunities for La Union coffee.
This is important because specialty coffee buyers do not simply purchase volume. They look for consistency, traceability, quality and a compelling origin story.
Bagulin increasingly has all four ingredients.
THE STORY IS BIGGER THAN BAGULIN
The development is also part of a wider push to build La Union’s coffee industry.
PIA reported that coffee farming is emerging as an important agricultural activity in the province’s highlands, particularly in Bagulin, Santol and San Gabriel. Farmers’ organizations are being encouraged to improve processing, connect with cafés and roasters, and develop products under the broader La Union Coffee identity.
The Philippine News Agency likewise reported in September 2025 that the BFCGA had taken over operations of La Union’s first coffee-processing facility, describing it as a move intended to strengthen coffee production and trade.
SunStar also reported the September 4 turnover, noting that the facility was expected to boost coffee production and trade both within La Union and beyond the province.
The development has also been covered by The Manila Times, which reported that the facility was turned over to the BFCGA as part of efforts to strengthen the province’s coffee industry.
THE NEXT CHALLENGE: GETTING THE COFFEE EVEN CLOSER TO CONSUMERS
A processing center solves one problem—but it creates a bigger opportunity.
Now comes the question of scale.
PIA reported that the association wants to expand its supply to neighboring barangays and municipalities. Bugtong also said he planted more than 200 additional coffee trees in 2025 to supplement the facility.
That suggests the farmers are thinking beyond simply maintaining today’s production.
They are preparing for tomorrow’s demand.
More recent reporting by PNA also shows that Bagulin’s coffee is becoming part of the town’s tourism identity. Around 28 families were reported to produce about 1,000 kilograms of coffee beans annually, with Baguionas coffee being sold at about ₱280 per 250 grams.
That is a different business model from selling unprocessed beans to traders.
It is the beginning of a farm-to-cup economy.
BUT THE REAL TEST HAS NOT ARRIVED YET
The new facility gives Bagulin’s farmers a stronger position, but infrastructure alone cannot guarantee long-term success.
Farmers still have to deal with production costs, climate risks, quality consistency, market competition and the challenge of maintaining reliable supply.
PIA itself identified climate change, market competition and the need to scale production as continuing challenges for the industry.
That is why Bagulin’s coffee story is not really about a building.
It is about whether farmers can turn better processing into better prices, better prices into stronger livelihoods, and stronger livelihoods into a sustainable rural industry.
For now, the signs are encouraging.
The coffee is being processed closer to the farms. Farmers are learning how to improve quality. Local institutions are connecting producers with potential buyers. And Bagulin’s Baguionas coffee is beginning to appear not merely as an agricultural commodity, but as a product with a place, a name and a story.
The harvest, in other words, is no longer the finish line.
It may only be where Bagulin’s bigger coffee story begins.
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