Deep in the forested sitio of Talingguroy in Barangay Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet lives the family of Rodiyo Tacdoy, the young farmer who brought Benguet Arabica Coffee to a new level.
The strong aroma of Arabica Coffee can be smelled right at the facade of Tacdoy’s humble home. His father, Roger, got early to tend their coffee farm, while her mother, Aprila, went to work as a food server in one of the education institutions in town.
Rodiyo is the first born of Roger and Aprila. He is blessed with five all-girl siblings who are all religiously going to school and obedient children.
A proud former monitored child of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Rodiyo, who just turned 22 on May 1, made history as the youngest farmer to win the highly coveted 2025 Philippine Coffee Quality Competition (PCQC) held in Manila on May 9. As a result, his 117 kg coffee entry was auctioned at almost 1 million pesos.
“Welcome to our humble home,” Rodiyo quipped as he confidently beamed while he offered the freshly brewed coffee from their entry to the historic win.
How it all started
“My father influenced me to produce coffee,” Rodiyo said.
His father is a full-time coffee grower and a farmer who grows chayote, broccoli, cabbages, and other high value crops for survival. But, back then, coffee was just a backyard crop basically for home consumption, according to Rodiyo.
“Honestly, I have no interest in coffee because I would only see it before as a backyard crop. But with the influence of my father from the many coffee expositions we attended, I became interested and that’s the turning point where I started to discover the wonders of coffee,” Rodiyo narrated in their local language.
Since 2018, Rodiyo and his family produce coffee under the canopy of alnus and pine trees at their farm in Talingguroy where they experiment processing methods from firsthand experiences and thorough observations during coffee expositions, festivals, and farm visits, among others, until they learned advanced methods such as unaerobic fermentation to elevate the flavors of their produced beans.
Rodiyo and his father are regular customers to various local coffee competitions where they brewed their experiences in improving their coffee flavors. They failed many times but they never stopped improving their coffee product with enough determination. It is their second time to compete in the PCQC, and the rest is history.
How the 4Ps helps the Tacdoy family
Tacdoy’s family was included in the 4Ps in 2012. Rodiyo attributed that the Program has indeed brought tremendous change to their lives especially in giving value to the power of education while ensuring their good health.
“Before kami naging miyembro ng 4Ps, talagang kapos kami sa pangangailangan sa pag-aaral. Ang 4Ps ay nagbigay ng malaking tulong sa amin upang bigyang importansya ang aming pag-aaral. Kahit may kalayoan ang aming eskwelahan, nagbigay sigla ang tulong ng 4Ps sa aming magkakapatid. Dahil sa 4Ps, nakapagtapos ako ng Senior High School (Before we became a 4Ps member, we are really short of what we need. The 4Ps instilled in us the value of education. Although our school is quite far from our home, the 4Ps motivates us to go to school. Because of the 4Ps, I was able to finish Senior High School),” Tacdoy narrated.
Aside from the cash grant they are receiving, Rodiyo attested that the Program’s Family Development Session (FDS) provided them additional lessons useful in their lives.
“Naranasan ko na mag-attend the FDS at napakadami kong natutunan doon. Bilang panganay, may mga pagkakataon na ako ang pinapadala ni mama lalo na kung siya ay nagkakasakit. Isa sa mga natutunan ko ay ang pagiging isang ehemplo sa aking mga kapatid, paano sila alagaan, at pagiging isang mabuting anak (I experienced attending the FDS and I really learned a lot. As the first born, there were instances that I was the one attending on behalf of my mother especially when she gets sick. One of the many things I learned from the FDS is to become a role model to my siblings, how to take good care of them, and to be a good child,)” Rodiyo continued.
Next steps for the Tacdoy family
With the overwhelming support received by the Tacdoy family because of the hefty feat, Rodiyo still believes in the transformative impact of having an education degree.
“Ituloy ko pa rin ang pagtatnim ng kape. Pero, gusto kong ituloy ang aking pag-aaral. Balak ko na ituloy ang matagal kong pangarap na kukuha ng Engineering. Pero sa ngayon, kailangan kong mag-ipon para may sapat akong gagamitin sa pag-aaral ko (I will still continue planting coffee. But I would like to continue my studies. I’d like to pursue my ambition to earn a degree in Political Science. But for now, I need to earn first so that I can finance my studies well,” Rodiyo said.
Driven with vision, Rodiyo does not only think of his future, but the future of his siblings and his family.
“Gusto ko rin na makatapos sa pag-aaral ang aking mga kapatid upang mas mabigyan kami ng magandang kinabukasan (I wish also that my siblings would finish their studies for us to have a brighter future),” Rodiyo continued.
Apart from pursuing his education, Rodiyo shared that he and his father plan to share their diverse coffee experiences with their fellow coffee growers in their community.
“Gusto ko rin na matutunan ng iba pang mga kasama na nagtatanim ng kape na bigyang importansiya ang tamang pagtanim at pagproseso ng kape, dahil ang kape natin dito sa Benguet ay talagang may kalidad (We plan with my father to share with our fellow coffee growers the proper ways to produce and process coffee, because our coffee here in Benguet has also the best quality),” Rodiyo said.
Based on their latest Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI), an annual assessment tool being used by the Program to know the overall life improvement and progress of its beneficiaries, the Tacdoy family attained a Level 3 or Self-sufficient status which means that they are ready to exit from the Program.
On May 19, the Local Government of La Trinidad commended Rodiyo for the historic feat and his growing contribution to the municipality’s coffee industry and empowerment of youth on agriculture.
With the achievement of Rodiyo and his family, he is positive that they can overcome life’s difficulties with hard work and determination. ### DSWD FO CAR, Social Marketing Unit, Marlo C. Abyado, Jr., 4Ps Information Officer
