Help for farmers

COFFEE farmers in Jiwaka have received pulpers and canvases from the World Bank.
Under its productive partnership in agriculture project (PPAP) roll-out last month in Eastern Highlands, Chimbu, Western Highlands and Jiwaka, the bank has helped 317 members of the Waka Small Coffee Growers Association.
Under phase one of the project, the bank allocated K8 million to support small coffee and cocoa growers in East and West New Britain.
The project in Jiwaka is ma­naged by Kosem Ltd as the lead partner in facilitating training, processing, marketing and distribution of coffee tools to the farmers.
PPAP project manager David Freyne, who is based in Goroka, travelled into Nondugl to make the presentation and told farmers it was an initiative of the bank to help growers to work in their coffee gardens to earn an income so they could improve their living standards.
“Look after the coffee and coffee will look after you,” he said.
He said the bank wanted to help people to help themselves by alleviating poverty and ensuring people had money to improve living standards.
Freyne urged people to turn to coffee instead of wasting time waiting for handouts.
He said apart from 317 farmers, the bank would help other growers in the province when they registered with the group.
Lead partner John Munnul, of Kosem Ltd, told the growers that in the past they never got good benefits from their coffee.
Munnul said under this project, which would roll-out for three years, the farmers would get good money from their coffee.