Fourth annual chocolate festival starts

THE fourth annual Bougainville Chocolate Festival has kicked off in Arawa, bringing together cocoa farmers and international chocolatiers under the theme “World class beans for world class chocolate”.
Australian High Commission first secretary Clayton Harrington, who was a guest at the opening yesterday, said the two-day festival was not only putting Bougainville’s cocoa on the map, but also introducing growers to new markets and technologies that would improve production and quality.
“Cocoa is a huge industry in Papua New Guinea, including in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB), made up of smallholder farmers from across the region,” Harrington said.
“Since the Bougainville Chocolate Festival began in 2016, we have been supporting the event in partnership with the Autonomous Bougainville government and the PNG government and New Zealand to further develop the local cocoa industry and provide improved access to domestic and overseas buyers.”
The festival is now into its fourth year and organisers said the aim was to help growers increase their production and quality of cocoa.
Initiated by the Autonomous Bougainville government in 2016, the event was supported by the Australian and New Zealand governments in partnership with the PNG government.
Hundreds of cocoa farmers attended the event to showcase the region’s quality cocoa beans.
The Australian and New Zealand governments supported the travel and accommodation of 78 farmers who had submitted beans for judging.
Since 2016, Australia and New Zealand had invested over K8 million in grants to 25 cocoa farming groups in the AROB.
The programme has already distributed 250,000 cocoa seedlings, issued 17 new tractors and provided block management best-practice training for 50 farmers to become trainers.
The Australian High Commission said last year’s festival winners Steven and Elizabeth Seveke had returned for the 2019 festival.
The couple travelled from South Bougainville to Australia in March to learn about the cocoa value chain with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.
With thousands of people expected to attend, the festival will have over 100 stalls, musical and cultural performances, agriculture demonstrations and workshops, and a range of activities for children.