Call to revive old coffee plantations

AGRICULTURE alone can rescue the country’s economy, a coffee grower and former MP says.
Former Anglimp-South Waghi MP Michael Mel said the rescue package was available in some 30,000 hectares of rundown coffee plantations.
“When you add the other tree crops you are looking at about 300 plantations which are run down at present,” he said.
“Right now the agriculture sector itself needs rescuing.
“Once fully revived, this sector can start contributing within three to five years and repay initial investment with substantial interest in 10-15 years.
“Thereafter, it is pure profit into the future depending on market forces.
“This is a far better investment than investment in the extractive resources sector,” he said.
“That is because while investment is being repaid the resources are dwindling at the same time, not growing and expanding as in agriculture, so that by the time our investment is paid up, the amount of time left for any gain is limited and it all depends on market conditions also.”
“Therefore, you cannot go wrong with investing in agriculture.”
Mel was the managing director of Pipilka Development Corporation which developed and ran the Gumanch Coffee Plantation in Western Highlands, the largest in the Pacific.
The 500 hectares Gumanch plantation is completely run down as the adjacent Waghi Mek, which ran 13 plantations alone, earned K200 million annually.
“When both Gumanch and Waghi Mek were both operating, some K5 million was in the hands of hundreds of workers each fortnight in this little corridor of Waghi valley and Dei council,” he said.
“If this was multiplied right across the country with revival of all plantations, the direct and indirect benefits will be immeasurable.”
Mel said reviving coffee plantations would cost K6,000 per hectare.
“To recover all 30,000 hectares of run down plantations it would cost K180 million.”