DoST-12 plans civet coffee research center to help B’laan tribe increase production
THE DEPARTMENT of Science and technology-SOCCSKSARGEN (DoST 12) is eyeing to increase civet coffee production in the region by putting up a Halal Civet Research and Development Center at the Mindanao State University (MSU) campus in General Santos City. DoST Regional Director Haja Sittie Shayma Zenaida HR Laidan, in an interview on the sidelines of the recent 2018 National Science and technology Week held in Davao City, said they are assisting small and medium enterprises from the B’Laan indigenous people in Mt. Matutum, where coffee plantations and civet cats thrive. “Civet coffee is a medicinal coffee and it is very expensive so we want to increase production,” said Ms. Laidan. DoST12, in collaboration with MSU and a nongovernment organization, is now preparing the proposal and the feasibility study for the research center. —