Cocoa farmers get support

ABOUT 10,000 cocoa farmers have received more than K900,000 premiums and attend sustainability programmes jointly from Olam Cocoa through its wholly owned subsidiary Outspan PNG Ltd, Lindt and Sprungli, Cacao-Trace (Puratos) and Mars.
Outspan sustainability manager Shekhar Dwivedi when commenting on the distributions said: “It’s been a challenging year for farmers due to the Covid-19 pandemic, both in PNG and across the world.
“After an initially slow crop season, favourable weather allowed for better cocoa arrivals in the second and third quarters.
“We are grateful to the Government for their swift action to protect the population in the early stages of the crisis, and as a result, PNG has remained relatively safe.
“During this time, Outspan stepped up its efforts to engage with cocoa farmers by safely continuing our sustainability programmes through a Covid-19 awareness initiative.
Dwivedi in partnership with Market Development Facility, an Australian government-funded initiative, Outspan reached 40,000 farmers in five provinces with information about the virus.