Govt gives K32.5m to revive industry

 From MALUM NALU in Goroka

THE government has allocated K32.4 million to revive Papua New Guinea’s ailing coffee industry, Coffee Industry Corporation acting chief executive officer Anton Benjamin said at the weekend.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill will launch new government incentives spearheaded by the CIC to revive the industry in Goroka on Friday.

It is all part of the government’s intention to increase people’s participation in national development through major reforms it has undertaken in its priority sectors, including agriculture.

“Government funding to coffee this year has been the best,” Benjamin said in Goroka.

“Previously, it’s been well below K10 million.

“In 2013, we got about K7 million, 2012 we got about K9 million, this year we got K32.4 million.

“That’s a big plus for CIC.”

Benjamin said how the money would be spent was all captured in the strategic plan to be launched by O’Neill on Friday.

“We’ve identified six focus areas that we will concentrate on,” he said,

“We’ve developed programmes based on these six focus areas

“We have K7 million for extension and rehabilitation, another K7 million for the freight support scheme so we will continue to move coffee from the remote areas to factory doors, we’ve got another K2 million for the Lae export office, we’ve got K2 million for the coffee berry borer which will help surveillance along the border (with Indonesia), and then we’re got K11 million for price support.”

Benjamin said for transparency’s sake, all stakeholders would be involved.

“We want to sit down with our stakeholders because this year we want to be transparent,” he said,

“What we do must be in the best interests of the industry so consultation is very important.

“We’ve already done a number of consultations in Eastern Highlands, Chimbu and Jiwaka and then we go to Western Highlands, Morobe, Enga.”