Mum joins coffee rehab

The National Weekender

By LEO WAFIWA
JULIE Waramboi has become the second woman recipient of Coffee Industry Corporation’s industry rehabilitation funding to help over 800 coffee households in the rural Wain-Erap LLG of Morobe.
Julie of Wia Trade Enterprises Ltd signed a K2.6 million partnership agreement with CIC’s Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (PPAP) at the company’s premises at Nadzab on Monday Oct 24.
Under the agreement she will work with co-partner Kasuka Coffee Cooperative Society to service 813 farmers in the blue mountains of Wain-Erap. The bulk of coffee from Morobe comes out from this area.
“It will be a challenge but I’m confident to deliver for the benefit of our struggling farmers,” says Julie.
Aged 41, the courageous mother of three takes the lead in running the family business, Wia Trade Enterprises Ltd which has been established in Lae for 10 years already. The company specialises in distributing industrial chemicals and agriculture products. A warehouse was recently constructed at Nadzab along the Markham section of the Highlands Highway.
She has been working with rural mothers in the Wain-Erap area and is not new to their many challenges.
“As a woman I’m aware of the difficulties women in the area face and will see that the coffee development work touches their lives as well,” says Julie.
Project manager, Potaisa Hombunaka, confirmed during the agreement signing that Julie was the second women lead partner for the CIC-PPAP programme.
“Mipela lukim ol meri ken ronim project tu na bilip dispela wok bai karim kaikai.” (We’ve seen the successful participation of women in this project and believe this partnership will bear fruit.
“Why bai ol meri no inap mekim gut wok agrikalsa? (Why women shouldn’t do well as Lead Partners in agriculture?)
The first woman lead partner is Daisy Casupang of Timbuka Coffee Ltd who is serving 432 farmers in Western Highlands and Jiwaka under Call 2 proposals. The success of Timbunka has convinced CIC-PPAP board or the industry coordination committee to approve additional funding for up-scaling under Call 4 proposals to service additional 2112 farmers.
Wia Trade Enterprise under Julie’s leadership will help farmers improve their coffee gardens. It supplies basic farming tools like hand coffee pulpers and organises farmers for training in best practices to increase yield and quality.
The lead partner and Kasuka Coffee Cooperative are also expected to train and organise farmers for group marketing of green bean coffee to a direct market overseas for a fair price.
“We will help to link our farmers to local and overseas markets and a processing mill will also stand here to process our coffee,” Julie said at the ground breaking ceremony after the signing.
Construction of a green bean processing mill at Wia Trade’s premises at Nadzab would cost the company K1.5 million. This is to add value to the farmers’ coffee so they can realise better prices for producing quality coffee. The coffee could be branded and marketed as Wain Blue Mountain Coffee, said Julie.
The heads of eight farmer cluster groups or co-partners in the Wain-Erap LLG namely Torowa, Gis, Sabang, Kalebo, Bayang, Lawarong, Balawang and Tafito who will operate under Kasuka Cooperative, also signed the agreement.
The agreement sets out to achieve the following:

  • Lead partner will provide just over 200,000 coffee seedlings for distribution to farmers;
  • Improve 813 coffee gardens;
  • The farmers to sell or market close to 1,000 tonnes of coffee by the end of project;
  • To improve coffee quality through the introduction of pulpers and training on post-harvest practices;
  • To train 3,000 people on various skills training courses based on their assessment needs;
  • To integrate honey bee with coffee to increase production and quality;

Hombunaka explained the project funding for each lead partner under Call 4 includes K100,000 purposely for integration of honey bee with coffee.
“This is the first funding to boost honey bee production and also to increase pollination of coffee cherries by domesticated bees,” he says.
The signing of partnership agreement between CIC-PPAP and Wia Trade Enterprises and co-partners was witnessed by the farmers and their families at a peaceful gathering. Also present at the ceremony were Morobe provincial advisors for community development and DAL, CIC officials from Goroka and Lae office, farmers and their families and media personnel from Lae.
The PPAP is a CIC project through DAL financed by a loan facility from World Bank, IDA and IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) with support funding from PNG Government.

  • The author is Information and Communications Officer for Coffee Industry Corporation’s Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (PPAP).