CIC appeals for support to address borer threat

THE Coffee Industry Corporation is appealing to leaders at the national, provincial and district levels to assist in whatever way possible to address the threat by the coffee berry borer (CBB).
Chief executive officer Charles Dambui said in CIC’s recent newsletter that the borer threat would be the focus this year.
“Apart from other ongoing projects such as the freight subsidy and extension initiatives, we head into 2017 with a bigger responsibility at hand – the coffee berry borer incursion in the country. We are appealing to leaders at the national, provincial and district levels where you represent a coffee growing community, to assist where you can to address the current situation,” Dambui said.
He said CIC’s biggest challenge would be to coordinate farmers in terms of sanitation practices.
“That is where we will need more manpower to boost these efforts with the Coffee Industry Corporation,” he said.
“Most smallholder coffee farmers are not aware of the seriousness of CBB pest and the serious damage it causes to the coffee berries.
“Coffee farmers will have to be made aware of the pest in terms of its life cycle, how it damages the coffee berries, how it is spreads and the measures to deal with it.
“The general awareness has started in the highlands provinces, beginning with Jiwaka and Eastern Highlands.
“This will continue into the rest of the highlands provinces and other regions.
“We are mindful, that once CBB enters a country, it is there to stay. And the coffee industry must develop plans to live with it through research and development programmes to improve coffee productivity and quality.
“CIC anticipates to refocus its extension efforts including research and development in light of the incursion.
“We have deployed our team of coffee inspectors into Chimbu where a road block is currently being staged at the Koronigl bridge and another team has set up another roadblock last week at the Lufa/Okapa junction in Eastern Highlands.
“The third checkpoint is being planned for Kondapina in Jiwaka province.
“The roadblocks will stop the movement of coffee from infected areas to non-infected areas.”