Conservation area gets K1mil for coffee farming

By GLORIA BAUAI
VILLAGERS covered under the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Programme (TKCP) in Morobe will benefit from a K1 million contract to develop coffee in Kabwum’s Yus local level government.
The TKCP website said the Yus conservation programme was named after Morobe’s Yopno, Uruwa, and Som rivers, and the Matschie’s tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei) remains the flagship species for the overall conservation programme.
TKCP began in 1996 as a conservation research study to determine the status of the endangered tree kangaroo, and had established itself as one of Papua New Guinea’s longest-running and most successful conservation efforts.
The programme works in partnership with the local communities to establish and manage the YUS conservation area.
The coffee development contract, signed in Lae on Tuesday, had triggered the commencement of a partnership under the Government’s PNG agriculture commercialization and diversification (PACD) programme through the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC).
The signing was a result of a 13-month-long process to assist more than 500 households across Yus’ 12 wards go into farming coffee.
More than 12,000 people in 50 villages make up the Yus local level government area.
According to information available on the programme, the Yus protected area was the only of its type in the country, providing protection at the landscape scale, “wholly owned by local people, and with the support of the Government for long-term protection”.
It said TKCP had expanded to support the needs of the wildlife, habitat, and communities throughout Yus.
The Yus landscape comprised land pledged for conservation as well as buffer areas of mixed use, encompassing more than 158,000ha (390,000 acres) ranging from coastal reefs to 4,000m peaks. Nearly 70% of the landscape is covered by a large unbroken tract of rainforest and home to a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna.
The people of Yus had actively participated in TKCP’s work, including scientific research, land mapping, education, health, sustainable livelihoods, and conservation outreach activities.
As the only established organization empowering the local stewards of the environment, TKCP was granted the lead partner role to manage the funding for purposes of delivering goods and services and managing operations.
Alphy Semy, CIC’s productive partnership coordinator said under the funding arrangement, farmers would receive tools, storage sheds and assistance to also venture into bee farming.
“Services will cover capacity building in the areas of coffee agronomy training (value chain from nursery right up to the market) and social development trainings in the areas of financial literacy, personal viability, gender including household resource management, awareness on HIV AIDS and law and order cross-cutting issues,” Semy said.
“In operations, the funding will cater for transport and logistics and staff, having a standalone unit of its own to manage and expand this project with the intention to localise coffee extension officers.”
He explained that the agreement required contributions from each partner, including a five per cent cash equity under the goods category from the farmers (as core partners).
The K1 million funding would be kept in a separate account managed by TKCP.
Semy said PACD’s predecessor (productive partnership in agriculture project) operated in six provinces and dealt with lead partners or registered entities in the coffee value chain such as cooperatives and associations. PACD, however, has a total funding of K20.1 million and would deal directly with farmers.
He said they had secured 24 partnerships, TKCP being the 22nd partner.
“We have another two in Mt Hagen which we will deal with over the next two days on Thursday and Friday.”
CIC-PACD project manager Potaisa Hombunaka said Morobe would benefit from five projects, valued at K4.4 million with partners including TKCP and the Lutheran Development Services across Finschhafen, Kabwum, Wau-Waria and Watut.