Agriculture college, agency team up to revive coffee plot

THE Highlands Agriculture College, located in Western Highlands, has been working in close partnership with the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) since 2019 to revive an old coffee plot.
The five-hectare plot has been rehabilitated with the assistance of CIC’s Western Highlands based extension officer Jacob Ken.
A recent visit to this coffee plot demonstrated rehabilitation work taking place, new field planting and drainage being carried out by the agriculture students and farm workers.
Deputy principal and agri-business senior lecturer Lucas Minimbi said the institution was grateful for the partnership with CIC who had provided technical advice and hands on demonstration for the students.
“We are grateful for this partnership which has seen some progress in improving the coffee plots and bringing back life to the trees with rehabilitation that has taken place,” he said.
Agri-business lecturer Logan Payapowa explained that previously their coffee plot was planted by the then Department of Agriculture and Livestock in the 1950s as a seed multiplication centre, which supplied farmers in the upper Highlands.
Ken said he was happy with the work after several trainings, the supply of 4,000 seedlings to the school, and field demonstrations conducted with the students and teachers.