Farmers move to become holders

THE PNG Smallholder Coffee Growers Association has started the distribution of coffee seedlings, training of farmers and exporting coffee for small coffee growers.
Association general-secretary Kaiyo Kana confirmed that small coffee-growing farmers had started planting 14,000 trees to become plantation-holders.
Kana attended the launching of coffee seedling project initiated by the association at Chuave in Chimbu last Friday.
“In the past 50 years, (the association) was a small player in the coffee industry,” he said.
“Today, we are beginning the journey to change from small coffee farms to plantations.
The shift is towards family units.
“I will bring in training on how to grow coffee industry as a business from the tree to the cup,” Kana said.
“For the last 50 years, we have been rehabilitating aging coffee trees but never planted new trees.”
Kana has started with seven family units to grow new coffee trees.