50-plus Wafi-Golpu cocoa growers undergo US assessment

MORE than 50 cocoa growers in Wafi-Golpu, Morobe, underwent a week-long training-needs assessment conducted by USAID’s Papua New Guinea Sustainable Landscapes programme.
The programme’s private sector engagement specialist Maureen Thomas said the assessment was part of a series of consultations with farmers, Morobe provincial administration, and stakeholders to improve sustainable farming through good agricultural practices.
The survey was coordinated by the Babuaf Farmers’ Cooperative Society with the support of the Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture.
It aims to identify farmer needs, sustainable land use, training, and the capacity to increase cocoa yields and improve the quality of cocoa.
Since the establishment of the Babuaf Farmers’ Cooperative Society in 2017, registered farmers were able to sell cocoa to the society.
Others transport their dry cocoa beans to Lae to be sold there.
“The cocoa farmers need support in certain areas to boost their cocoa produce and quality,” Thomas said.
“This assessment will identify support areas to be provided by the programme.”
Society deputy chairman Steven Jadah Utin said partnership was the way to increase production through training, knowledge capacity, and sustainable use of land.
The programme, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Palladium, supports the Government’s efforts on conservation, natural resource management, land use, and reduction of greenhouse gases.