Coffee farmers to benefit from scheme

 By AUGUSTINE DOMINIC

COFFEE farmers in remote areas nationwide will get K2 per kg of coffee in the remaining five months of the year under the government-funded Coffee Freight Scheme implemented by the Coffee Industry Corporation Ltd.

It was agreed during a stakeholders’ meeting at the corporation’s head office in Goroka recently that the price of coffee had dropped below or was equivalent to the freight cost per kg, thus discouraging famers in remote areas from harvesting, processing and marketing their coffee.

As a result, those farmers needed incentives to increase their yield and the price support of K2 per kg will boost their morale in increasing production and quality.

The stakeholders agreed a committee compromising their representatives would be set up to provide oversight for the implementation of the scheme.

Corporation acting chief executive officer Anton Benjamin, who chaired the stakeholders meeting, expressed satisfaction on the outcome, saying the common focus of stakeholders was to increase production and quality to meet the government’s plans through such schemes.