Cocoa farmers received K600,000 under programme, says company

A TOTAL of K600,000 has been paid to 8,000 cocoa farmers in East Sepik, Morobe and Madang this year by Outspan PNG Ltd, a subsidiary of Olam Cocoa.
The payment was made through its sustainability programme which runs in partnership with Lindt & Sprüngli, Cacao-Trace (Puratos) and Mars.
The company said in a statement that the money was invested in training to help farmers professionalise their practices while mitigating their impact on the environment, and to diversify their incomes away from just growing cocoa while also going towards vital infrastructure projects such as schools and health centres.
According to the company, cocoa production in PNG is challenging given the aging trees and cocoa pod borer infestation, which was why Olam Cocoa was working with partners and with farmers to improve quality.
East Sepik regional cocoa board manager Daryl Wobar said he was encouraged by the increased number of farmers who were benefitting from the programme.
Wobar encouraged female farmers to increase their numbers by next year, as such programmes were reaching and training all farmers.
“Payment of premiums alone is not enough to create positive change,” he said. “It relies on the hard work of the farmers applying the learnings from training and their passion towards producing high quality PNG cocoa beans to be successful on the world market.”
East Sepik agriculture and livestock department project officer Tony Hobiagi said as an exporter, Olam Cocoa was setting a benchmark for the cocoa sector.