Chuave signs coffee deal

 By ZACHERY PER

CHUAVE district in Chimbu and the Coffee Industry Corporation last Friday entered an agreement valued at more than K7 million to revitalise and increase coffee production in the district.

The agreement signing was witnessed by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and joined by hundreds of people.

The deal was signed by Chuave MP Wera Mori, chief executive officer Marcus Warip, CIC company secretary Wilma-Banake Agusave and general manager responsible for Coffee Research and Growers Services Division Dr Mark Kenny at the Yauwe Moses Secondary School.

Mori said the people of Chuave depended on coffee. Thus a major coffee planting programme will be undertaken by the people so that “in four to five years’ time, the coffee trees would yield abundantly”.

O’Neill told the people that he would be announcing a major revival of the agriculture sector, with coffee as the main commodity to be revived through adequate budgetary support from the government.

As part of the agreement, the District Development Authority will make available K500,000 as the annual coffee price support component to be deposited with a reputable coffee company in Chuave.

The farmers will be paid an extra amount between five to 10 toea per kilogram of parchment coffee.

Mori, who owns more than 13,000 coffee trees himself, challenged the people to focus on coffee farming.

He told the people that the DDA’s monetary commitment towards the people through the price support scheme and the revitalisation programme would be funded by one of the world’s leading donor organisations. 

The agreement covers a five-year period expiring in 2020 and K4,546,000 will go towards the coffee revitalisation programme. The remaining K2.5 million will cater for the coffee price support scheme.

The CIC will identify a coffee extension officer to be stationed at Chuave to oversee the project, covering the local level governments of Siane, Elimbari and Chuave.