Cocoa’s windfall is an Easter blessing

THIS week’s news of the huge jackpot by cocoa farmers throughout the country, and of course the world, came at a time none other than during the Holy Week, and on the eve of Easter.
This is the time when we, the simple farmers of Gazelle’s Inland Baining in East New Britain, would always focus on the upcoming activities during the Holy Week leading into Easter. Among our preparations are the tithes that we would have saved from our hard work and sweat on our farms, our gardens, our cocoa plots and our balsa trees to be offered during our Saturday and Sunday church services.
We do so every year to remember and pay homage to our Lord God, Mother Mary, the Holy Spirit and all the saints and angels for what we now celebrate and remember as the time when the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, He died and was resurrected from the death.
His resurrection brought us great victory and joy over evil.
We have again been rewarded, on a day none other than the eve of Easter. Blessed be to God forever.
Papua New Guinea has been rocked with so much controversy, high inflation affecting living costs, natural disasters wreaking havoc everywhere, political and leadership chaos that is causing much much more confusion than ever before, and the list goes on.
But, amid all this is the shining hand of goodness. And, there is only one source for that: Through the might of God.
Since the 1960’s, this is the first time that the price of cocoa has reached the K1,500 and K1,700 mark. And, we are told that this is likely to continue throughout this year and possibly next year. If this does happen, then prices are likely to go beyond the K2,000 mark for a 64kg bag of fermented cocoa.
For East New Britain cocoa farmers, especially those of us in Inland Baining, we have been through worse when the cocoa pod borer (CPB) struck. Farmers had to cut down and burn all their hybrid cocoa. We were left to fend for ourselves; all tiers of government, including its so-called PNG Cocoa Board, never came through on any promises they made. Promises of visits to our plots and blocks never materialised.
Before the CPB outbreak, Cocoa Board officials would visit regularly, but only to collect fees.
When the borer hit, they were gone like the wind, and never resurfaced.
Therefore, I find no truth in what PNG Cocoa Board CEO Anjen said in the media. The Government funding that he is preaching about never went to assist the poor and simple farmers when the going got really tough. We struggled through our hard work and perseverance. The PNG Cocoa Board was never around to help us.
So, Anjen, we suggest that you stop lying to everyone about all those programmes, plans and subsidies you have in place. Now that we are getting a solid 95 per cent of our cocoa earnings into our pockets, you and your cocoa board want a share of the pie. Slickly, may I say.
A good start to make amends is by using these Government budgetary allocations to fix our ward and community roads. Seriously, focus on the Inland Baining wards between Vudal University, Vunapalading, Koki, Utmei and Manderes. Their farmers and block holders were and are the big suppliers of cocoa to Agmark, CPL and the smaller buying depots. Cocoa from these areas fill warehouses, not Anjen and his Cocoa Board.
If the PNG Cocoa Board can do that, then it justifies you returning at full speed to collect your fees. Oh, and one other ask: Where are those promised driers that you and the team committed years ago?

EastWest961
Vunapalading No.3