Donors drive initiative to boost coconut sector

MARKING a step forward to boost the coconut industry in Papua New Guinea, a new strategic initiative is in motion to support agricultural value chain-financing for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), exporters and processors, farmers and farming communities within the coconut value chain.
This was the main outcome of the first inception mission of the European Union (EU)-funded African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) business-friendly project, underway in PNG.
As part of the project’s inception, the Pacific Community (SPC), in partnership with the International Trade Centre (ITC), met with key collaborative partner Kokonas Indastri Koporesen (KIK), coconut stakeholders, farmers, financial institutions and support agencies in PNG from Nov 19-24.
SPC value chains specialist Sanfred Smith said there was a positive reception of the proposed agri-value chain (AVC) finance concept for coconuts by financial institutions, SME support entities, and KIK.
“Investing in agri-value chain benefits Pacific farmers and communities, empowering them to nurture their dreams and recognise the need to support their resilience in a region with many vulnerabilities such as climate change and natural disasters.
“We recognise how crucial agriculture is to the Pacific culture, the economy and livelihoods and the existing challenges in resources and infrastructure that business-friendly projects can help address,” Smith said.
The SPC team, Smith and project implementation officer Lagi Fisher, held meetings with key value chain actors, financial institutions, and credit guarantee institutions throughout the week to explore the development of the agri-value chain finance scheme tailored for the coconut industry.
SPC and ITC would strengthen stakeholder partnerships by providing technical assistance in the engagement with financial institutions.
“We anticipate finalising agreements with KIK to implement the business-friendly project in the next few weeks.
“We are also working on designing an industry-specific agri-value chain finance model for farmers, exporters, cooperatives and SMEs in the Coconut industry,” Fisher said.
AVC encompassed all the activities involved in producing, processing, and distributing agricultural products from farm to market.
AVC finance would seek to provide financial services at different stages of this chain to improve efficiency, reduce risks and enhance overall productivity.
KIK managing director Alan Aku said his organisation was willing to collaborate with SPC to spearhead the business-friendly project activities and interventions within the PNG coconut industry.
“One of the main challenges for the PNG coconut industry’s MSMEs, buyers, exporters and farmers is getting financial support.
“This project, with its coconut-specific financing model, will enable our SMEs, exporters and farmers to expand and increase their output,” Aku said.
He expressed gratitude to the EU, ACP, ITC and SPC for their assistance to the coconut industry.