Goilala coffee gets a further boost

COVER STORY

By JUNIOR UKAHA
THE helicopter sliced through the high-altitude air, thudding occasionally at some points.
Below is a greenery of forest canopies and tree tops that resemble an assortment of tiny broccolis.
The meandering Vanapa River snakes its way cutting though the greenery underneath, flowing southward where it meets the Papuan coastline. Fortified mountains walled us on our right and left. By the look of it, they could be some 2,000 meters above sea level.
The mountain on our right was densely forested while the one on our left was graced with patchy grassland, exposing occasional rocky surfaces at certain spots.
It is around 10am, Saturday, February 9. The weather was a bit overcast.
We are heading towards Ononge Catholic Mission Station in Goilala in the hinterlands of Central. The station, established in 1913 by French missionary, Fr Jules Dubey, is about 130 kilometers north of Port Moresby. It is located in Ward 7 of the Woitape Local Level Government.
It is about a 30-minute flight from the Jacksons International Airport via a helicopter or light aircraft.
The white Farland Aviation helicopter, a Bell-505 model, made a 90 degree left turn at the end of a sharp mountain range and there right in front of us is the Ononge rural airstrip nestled beckoningly on a mountain top.
On the left, cut out of the rugged mountain slope, you could see the scintillating horse track constructed by locals decades ago under the auspices of Fr Dubey. About three buildings with roofing iron lay to the right of the airstrip -the only ‘modern’ structure in sight.
At the backdrop are towering blue mountain ranges reaching up to the heavens, hidden by mystic clouds.
Our expatriate pilot obviously knows the terrain, having little trouble navigating and landing.
On the aircraft were Goilala MP Casmiro Aia, Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) provincial coordinator (Central and Gulf) Jorine Hetora, colleague Graham Keta from the National Broadcasting Corporation, myself and a female logistics officer. We were among a number of delegates from Port Moresby who traveled to the area to open a coffee storage and processing facility and commission a new mini coffee huller machine.
Scores of locals gathered at the airstrip to welcome us.

Another helicopter had arrived earlier ahead of us transporting a number of technical officers from the CIC; an engineer, a pair of coffee inspectors and a media officer.
After a brief reception with the local leaders, a traditional singsing group led the delegates to the ceremonial stage. Kundu drums were beating frantically as dancers clad in bird of paradise feathers, yellow bark cloths, tanget (cordyline) leaves and laplaps sang in high-pitched tones, danced and swayed in a rhythmic fashion. The excited crowd cheered and clapped, welcoming the visitors in true Goilala style.
Another two performing groups also entertained the visitors before they took their seats.
As the guests were seated, the chiefs and local leaders killed a pig and broke betel nuts, as is the custom of the area, to welcome us.
When everyone was seated and the excitement subsided, Woitape LLG Ward 5 councilor Matthew Abadi gave brief opening remarks about the background of coffee in the area and the struggles local farmers face. According to Abadi, the Ononge area which includes Wards 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Woitape LLG, had more than 250 coffee farmers and some 900,000 coffee trees.

“We produce the highest volume of coffee in Goilala, Central and the Southern region,” Abadi said proudly.
“We produce some 500 bags of coffee, which is equivalent to about 30 tonnes,” he said.
Interest in coffee in the district has resurrected in 2016 when former MP, the late William Samb, had invested considerably in revitalising coffee infrastructure in Goilala.
Samb, along with Hetora, had even traveled to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to find top-notch markets for Goilala coffee. This has paid off when Goilala exported its first coffee to specialty markets in Dubai in 2022.
Despite these initiatives by the former MP, councilor Abadi said more needs to be done to further boost coffee production in the area.
“We need more technical training, tools, financial support and importantly transportation to get our coffee to the markets,” he said.
Abadi thanked current Goilala MP Aia for also extending the same support via funding allocations to support the coffee farmers of Ononge and greater Goilala.
Aia, who gave the keynote address around midday, said coffee was the only major cash crop for his people that has brought tangible revenue over the years. He explained that as a boy growing up in the village, he has also planted his own coffee trees and has firsthand experience on how coffee is grown, harvested and sold.
“Before becoming an MP, I grew coffee,” Aia said.
“My fathers and forefathers planted coffee and I also planted coffee when I was in school. The Government is always talking about taking back PNG.
“But how can we take back PNG? We can take back PNG by investing in agricultural activities like planting coffee,” he said.
Aia said the hydrocarbon and mineral resources sectors such as mining, petroleum and liquefied natural gas would run out one day but agriculture was a sustainable industry and could continue for generations.
“We are happy to partner with CIC and other stakeholders to develop agriculture in our district,” Aia said. “For coffee, I want to see a complete production and supply chain process in my district. Everything should be here so that farmers can come and sell coffee at their doorsteps at factory price and not be cheated of their hard work,” he said.
CIC senior mechanical engineer Tobias Kumie, who also spoke at the event, encouraged Ononge coffee farmers to take good care of their coffee plots so that it can generate maximum benefits for them.
“In CIC, we have a saying ‘lukautim kofi na kofi bai lukautim yu’ (Take care of coffee and coffee will take care of you),” Kumie said.
Kumie explained that the new mini coffee huller machine installed at Ononge was imported from India in 2019 to assist farmers in remote areas get value for their coffee. The machine converts parchment coffee into green beans. Powered by a generator, the huller can process between 100 to 120 kilograms of parchment coffee in an hour. This is equivalent to two bags of green bean coffee.
“The mini coffee huller machine will greatly help the farmers because it will remove the 20 per cent excess weight that comes with parchment coffee and only green beans will be transported to markets in Port Moresby,” Kumie said.

“We got five of these machines in India in 2019 at the cost of roughly US$7,000 (K26,000. We did installations right across the country in remote locations. We installed one in a remote area in Milne Bay, another in Awanas in Raicost, Madang, and now the third one in Ononge. Another two will be installed in Yalumet in Kabwum and Simbai also in Madang,” he said.
Following the speeches, Aia officially opened at the coffee storage facility by cutting the ribbon to commission the machine and open the storage shed. Inside the storage area, Kumie conducted a demonstration on the new mini coffee huller machine by processing a few parchment coffee, witnessed by the farmers, CIC officials and the local MP. The program ended with a farewell kaikai for the delegates.
Two helicopters from Farland Aviation were on standby ready to whisk the visitors back to Port Moresby.
The two Caucasian pilots were clearly concerned about the heavy clouds forming over the mountains. The pilots reckon that it is in everyone’s interest that we depart Ononge as soon as possible before heavy clouds and mists engulfed the place. We bid farewell to our hosts and boarded the helicopters and flew off.
As our helicopter lifted up, the people still stood there waving at us as if letting a loved one go.
They were simple people, living a simple lifestyle in a land that God has given to their ancestors.
That memorable 30-minutes flight to Ononge is like stepping back in time – 30 years – to a forgotten people and place.

• Junior Ukaha is a freelance writer.