Cooperatives, board, mine unite to produce quality cocoa

The National Business

TWO cocoa cooperatives in Morobe have partnered Cocoa Board of PNG (CBPNG) and the Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture (WGJV) mine to produce quality cocoa and improve livelihoods of local communities.
Babuaf and Lower Watut cocoa cooperative in Huon Gulf district signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with WGJV and CBPNG witnessed by officials from provincial and national government on Thursday.
Under the MOA, the miner and cocoa board would work together to address:

  • The decline and stagnancy in cocoa production faced due to the cocoa pod borer devastation;
  • Implement cocoa best management practices;
  • Improve cocoa extension services; and,
  • Develop the supply of certified quality planting materials.

The MOA will also address cocoa quality and by doing so, help increase yields and promote the phasing-out of wood-fired kiln pipe driers for solar combination driers to reduce or eliminate the smokiness known to be associated with PNG cocoa beans due to the use of faulty kiln pipe cocoa driers.
Cocoa board chief executive officer Boto Gautu said the partnership was the first entered with a mining company.
He said under the MOA, the CBPNG’s freight subsidy scheme would provide market access and alleviate the high transportation costs incurred by cocoa farmers and help in infrastructure development such as roads for farmers to access cocoa markets.
WGJV project director Bryan Bailie said the company considers people having access to sustainable incomes derived from direct or indirect participation from agro-business to be fundamental.
He said the next phase was to assist the farmers double their yields and ensure cocoa pod borer and other diseases were controlled and managed.
WGJV provided some 3,000 clone cocoa seedlings from the CBPNG research centre in East New Britain for the project.
The 1,200 hectares of cocoa from the cooperatives would generate about K1.2 million in income.
“As this project expands, WGJV with CBPNG intend to build the capacity for it to participate internationally,” Bailies said.
He called on the Government to build processing facilities for cocoa beans to process locally.
In 2013, the Lower Watut cocoa was rank third in the country as one of the top cocoa producing region in terms of quality; in 2015 it was ranked fifth in the world and the year cocoa show in Lae July it came out as the country’s top cocoa region.
WGJV head of external affairs David Wissink said the man purpose of the MOA was to assist farmers with technical information, skills and knowledge in producing quality cocoa.