Remote freight project to benefit farmers

COCOA farmers in Northern will benefit from a programme initiated by the Cocoa Board of PNG to help them access markets for their cocoa at delivered-in-store prices.
The delivered-in-store prices are prices that are not inclusive of transport and freight costs.
The remote freight subsidy project rolled-out in the province was made possible through an agreement between the board and NGIP Agmark, plus an initial payment of K50,000 to NGIP Agmark.
Cocoa Board executive manager corporate services Tony Vigil said the K50,000 paid to NGIP Agmark would subsidise transportation costs which the farmers incurred when transporting their cocoa to the company’s sheds to be sold.
“It allows these farmers to sell their produce at the delivered-in-store prices, putting more money into their pockets,” Vigil said.
“It also acts as a catalyst for cocoa marketing which in turn promotes growth (to the cocoa industry) by bringing in more cocoa to market depots and facilitating marketing and processing of cocoa and cocoa products.”
Vigil said since the introduction of the programme, it had moved more than 10,000 tonnes of cocoa from rural areas to markets netting K101 million in export revenue for the country.
“Without the programme, the cocoa would otherwise have been left stranded in remote areas.”