K150,000 boost to revive coffee growing

By PETER ESILA
A COFFEE company in remote Menyamya, Morobe, has received a K150,000 in funding support from the Government to help revive coffee growing and buying in the district.
Agriculture Minister John Simon, when presenting the cheque to Yha Hauka Kopi Ltd in Port Moresby yesterday, said the money was from Prime Minister James Marape’s commitment of K2 million when he visited the district in October.
“K150,000 is not a lot of money, a lot of districts want K1 million, K2 million, K3 million, coffee and cocoa and copra buying in itself can turn around and make money, all you need is the start-up capital to start buying, and you manage it well,” he said.
“Manage it well.
“This K150,000 can help you buy one container of coffee and the rest is history.”
Simon said a lot of districts had been given K100,000-K150,000, but had not reported back to the Government on how the fund was used and whether it had improved the industry in their areas.
He said all districts that received funding would have to acquit for it before getting more funds.
“You have a coffee mill, infrastructure in place, and everything, I am giving you the capital to start buying.”
Menyamya MP Benjamin Philemon said Yha Hauka Kopi Ltd was a business arm of the Morobe provincial government but had been non-functional since the 1990s due to poor management and poor road conditions.
He said coffee needed to become the leading cash crop in the district again after years of stagnation.
Philemon said Yha Hauka Kopi had two factories in Morobe and had other assets that could be used.
He said the district development authority had given K800,000 since last year to revive the business.
He said the only impediment now was the lack of proper road infrastructure to transport coffee to markets.