Change requires collaboration

GREATER collaboration by all stakeholders is needed to deliver changes in rural Papua New Guinea, Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (PPAP) coffee project manager Potaisa Hombunaka says.
“We have developed the PPAP coffee model by working with coffee processors and exporters, private sector firms, NGOs and church groups,” he said.
“We have invested a lot of money to build the capacity of extension and field officers of our lead partners with many trainings for them to deliver services to our rural people.”
Hombunaka said this during the opening of some coffee rehabilitation initiatives by Coffee Development Authority (CDA) Goroka at Gotomi valley in Lufa, Eastern Highlands, last week.
He said the World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) showed that PPAP was a better way to service the rural population.
This phase of coffee improvement work will end on Dec 31.
Yagaria local level government president Nama Aseda thanked all partners, including World Bank and IFAD, CIC, PPAP Coffee, CDA Goroka, BSP Goroka and the growers.
Aseda said Governor Peter Numu committed K15,000 to the Gotomi Coffee Cooperative which saw a permanent coffee storage house, a honey bee project, a coffee nursery, solar drier, a central drying bed for parchment coffee established and distribution of tools and materials for growers. CDA Goroka is a non-government organisation operating as lead partner of CIC-PPAP.
The coffee rehabilitation project is financed by World Bank and IFAD under a loan arrangement with the Government.
The NGO is working with eight cluster groups which includes 231 registered growers under Gotomi Coffee Cooperative.
Three weeks ago, the growers, under their cooperative, sold high quality green bean coffee to a local exporter in Goroka for K25,000. The growers earned K7.10 per kilogramme.
This is higher than current FOB (free on board) price for coffee exports.
They have used the training and facilities provided for to produce speciality coffee.
With further marketing facilities established by CIC farmers producing such quality coffee should receive higher prices than conventional marketing system.