PNG coffee is unique, says local company

By PETER ESILA
PAPUA New Guinea coffee is regarded as one of the better and unique varieties of the world, says a local coffee-growing company.
That is why Nowek Ltd, based at Kamaliki outside Goroka, is taking the initiative to distribute coffee seedlings to students and farmers as a way to encourage people to work the land.
General manager Ben Shelley said that as of Aug 12, a total of 35,535 seedlings had been distributed in an effort by Nowek to increase coffee volume, which had been in decline for the past several years.
“This is to encourage the local people to make use of their land and avoid drifting into urban areas, contributing to poverty, prostitution, crime and others,” Shelley said.
He said this would show others in the coffee industry like buyers, processors and exporters that “we need to give back to the source of the industry, the neglected coffee farmer”.
Shelley said coffee output had been in decline in recent years due to reasons like the lack of road infrastructure, climate change, old coffee trees not bearing as much as they used to, low world market prices and “idle hands” not making use of their land.
“In Goroka, we can improve in terms of quality by focusing on improving ‘quality control’,” he said.