PPAP coffee aids Sepik Central

By LEO WAFIWA
THE potential of Robusta coffee to help sustain the livelihood of many rural populations in East Sepik, particularly those from the hinterlands will be boosted with reliable market access facilities.
This is the focus of a coffee rehabilitation efforts being undertaken in Sepik Central by an agri-business firm Weni and Mandol Investments, a lead partner of Coffee Industry Corporation’s Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (CIC-PPAP).
“A processing mill in Maprik will ease the pain of transporting coffee all the way from Sepik Central down the Sepik Highway to Wewak,” said lead partner Anton Areka of Weni and Mandol Investments.
“Coffee was a traditional crop before cocoa and vanilla. This proposal will capture the farmers’ interest by bringing the factory to them.”
Growers in Nuku District of West Sepik Province also transport their coffee to Wewak via Maprik.
A weeklong field visit was made by PPAP field technical consultant Steven Tevo and communications expert Leo Wafiwa into the area from Feb 19-23.
The PPAP team observed the high cost of transporting coffee to Wewak at K25 to K30 per bag.
Also noted was the processing fee of 34t to 50t per kg and a low recovery rate of 70% to 75% from parchment to green bean as uneconomical for the hard working growers.
The PPAP team was impressed with the way farmers organized themselves under group marketing arrangements in their respective cooperatives. The main obstacle is the many processes they go through to sell their coffee overseas.
The chairman of respective cooperatives notifies CIC Maprik office when they have sufficient parchment bags. CIC helps to transport their coffees to a marketing agent in Wewak, Sepik Coffee Ltd. The firm helps farmers to market green bean coffee at K5.30 per kilo. Sepik Coffee arranges processing of parchment to green bean with Pacific Agro Ltd, the only processing mill in Wewak. Sepik Coffee Ltd then transports the bags to Kundu Coffee Ltd in Lae to export overseas.
The three players along the value chain collect their fees and the balance is held by CIC to notify cooperative chairman to organize deposits into respective farmer’s bank accounts.
The PPAP manager Potaisa Hombunaka said the lead partner had been informed that for sustainability purposes a coffee factory at Maprik is a must.
A piece of land at Amahuk at Abiges-Mamblep LLG just outside of Maprik town has been identified for a processing mill.
While the vanilla hype has returned to Sepik Central fetching between K800 and K1050 per kg as of last week, some people continue to maintain an interest in Robusta coffee.
The coffee rehabilitation effort covers 1000 farmers from 38 cooperatives or farmer groups actively taking part in reviving their gardens.
According to data provided by the lead partner with the help of CIC Maprik office, farmers in Sepik Central have participated in 28 overseas sales between 2006 and 2017. In the 11 year period they produced 15,600 green bean bags. These bags brought in K4,780,503 in foreign exchange. Net income to farmers alone was K3,118,820. The balance of K1,661,683 was paid to marketing, processing and export firms.
The annual return or income from Sepik Central alone is estimated at half a million Kina. It is anticipated that market access, also with rehabilitation of existing gardens should improve these figures.
The farmer groups are setting up nurseries from the Robusta clones recommended by CIC research division at the Omuru substation near Madang town namely PN91, PN94 and PN96. These varieties from the nine lines have superior characteristics of yield and coffee quality.
The cuttings were sourced from a farmer Thomas Ainero’s central pit nursery of Omuru 1 Robusta coffee at Angoram. Some 6,500 of these Robusta cuttings have been planted in a nursery at Waragom Village in Drekirkir early this month.
Another nursery is being set up at Baiyanga Village in the Abiges-Mamplep LLG, Maprik, by Wandau Cooperative. The group has a membership of 23 farmers and will take care of 7,800 Robusta cuttings.
Both nurseries are expected to produce just over 15,000 cuttings for distribution to farmers.
Church groups are engaged to work in the nurseries.
Sepik Central is known for cultivating the vanilla beans which have attracted popular interest among farmers. The price fluctuates so farmers were encouraged by the PPAP team to allow integrated farming of all cash crops.
Simeon Nahampir, 54, from Musunau Village in Drekirkir is an example of a grower who has been maintaining a variety of crops to sustain his income.
“I produce 50 to 60 bags from my 10 Robusta gardens and earn between K16,000 and K20,000 per year.”
Nahampir is chairman of IJEK Cooperative, a new group with a 51 membership recently attracted to the rehabilitation exercise. He also takes part in Robusta nursery and lately distributed 3000 cuttings in poly bags.
Nahampir’s recent total earnings per year from three cash crops is estimated at K272,000. The break-up is as follows: vanilla-K120,000 (K10,000 per month); cocoa-K72,000 (K5,000 to K6,000/month); and coffee-K80,000 (K16,000 to K20,000 per sales in a year). There were four sales for coffee in 2017.
Dry bean cocoa is selling at K5.38 per kg while parchment coffee is selling at K1.20 per kg. Lately the berry borer pest has affected cocoa production in areas that are yet to plant the new cloned cocoa.
Meanwhile, farmers have been urged to stop the habit of cutting down and removing tree crops when their price is down.
“The high price you’re enjoying for vanilla will not last forever.”
“If you plant cash crops like vanilla, cocoa and coffee, you must look after all of them to expand your source of income,” said Hombunaka.
“The income from all these crops will continue to sustain farmers’ cash flow.”
“It is important that you continue to have money from all these crops to improve your wellbeing.”
Some farmers have already benefited from the tool distribution program. Basic tools distributed were bow saws for pruning, bush knives, grass knives, file and hand pulpers.
The PPAP manager said East Sepik Provincial Government, plus DDAs of particularly Maprik, Drekikir, Wosera, Yangoru-Saussia, even Nuku are encouraged to invest some agriculture development funds with Weni and Mandol towards construction of a dry processing mill in Maprik to help our coffee farmers.
“Marketing infrastructures establishment is the key to unlocking the coffee potential of the province.”
The coffee rehabilitation is a Coffee Industry Corporation project through the Department of Agriculture & Livestock. The project is financed by a loan facility from World Bank and IFAD or International Fund for Agricultural Development with support funding from PNG Government.

• Leo Wafiwa is Information and Communications Officer for the CIC-PPAP.