Cocoa board partners with districts, provinces to revive cocoa

THE PNG Cocoa Board has, so far, partnered with 18 district, two provincial governments and the Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture from the private sector to revive cocoa in the country. Chief executive officer Boto Gaupu hopes to also partner with Newcrest on Lihir Island, New Ireland, to encourage a sustainable industry alongside the mine. “It is a kina-for-kina partnership, you put K1, we put K1,” Gaupu said after the signing of a memorandum of agreement with Madang’s Bogia development authority in Port Moresby on Monday.  “Wafi-Golpu, in the mining industry, is also involved with the development of cocoa to cover landowners, it is a sustainable activity for the mining impacted area,” he said.
“We learned from experience in mining areas like Misima, Wau-Bulolo and Bougainville where all the minerals were extracted and nothing was put back in agriculture, so even before the mine starts, we must grow the sustainable industries, the mine will come and go tomorrow, when we develop the sustainable industries, they will sustain life of after the mine.” Gaupusaid with Newcrest being a shareholder in the Wafi-Golpu project it made sense for Lihir to also have a similar agreement in place. Gaupu said the Cocoa Board mobilised farmer groups and connected them to exporters and buyers. “All cocoa production in PNG is sold nothing is stocked piled because our cocoa is good and it is well established, market is looking for cocoa, cocoa is not looking for market, so whatever is produced is always sold,” he said.