PPAP’s agri-development model proven successful

PAPUA New Guinea’s PPAP (coffee component) has been reported to be tested, effective and successful.
The PPAP Phase I and II kicked off in 2010 with a K318 million World Bank loan financing and its projects are scheduled to be completed on Dec 31.
The projects targeted to improve the livlihoods of small holder cocoa and coffee farmers and producers via funding aid, training and supply chain networking.
To date, the PPAP has implemented 83 partnership projects (47 coffee and 36 cocoa) involving 59,429 registered farmers. The target is 60,000 farmers or beneficiaries. According to the report to the Government, the participating smallholder farmers received farming aid (tools, materials and equipment) and services (agronomy, quality, marketing and livelihood trainings).
After nearly a decade, cocoa and coffee production had doubled per hectare, raising the income of participants or farmers.
As a result, the PPAP service delivery strategic approach in implementing development projects have attracted other development partners to invest in the sector.
The report, made available to The National, said the (Australian) DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) Commodity Support Programme in Bougainville, IFAD (International Funds for Agriculture Development) Fresh Produce Value Chain Support Project and the European Union cocoa, vanilla and small fisheries value chain support programme in the Sepik, are all following the PPAP service delivery model.
The report noted that PPAP’s rehabilitation of between 20 and 30 coffee blocks had been “very cost effective”.
These land are subdivided into manageable 4-5-hectare four or five hectare-blocks for rehabilitation. The cost was less than K1.6 million to rehabilitate 330ha of coffee blocks in part of Dei Council in Western Highlands and Jiwaka provinces.
The PPAP has identified three cost effective modalities of rehabilitating blocks and plantations and produced a 35-minute video titled ‘The Road to Reviving Coffee Blocks and Plantations’ has been released to stakeholders.
The PPAP’s cost-effective role model implementation is set to replace the costly NPMA (National Plantation Management Agency) approach. The report said the Government needed to support and finance service delivery models that were cost effective yet delivers goods and services to the people, strengthens value/supply chains for export of quality products.
The PPAP had succeeded in raising the income of participating farmers as against the conventional system which farmers were not vertically integrated in the value chain. The PPAP’s model is an effective and viable agriculture development extension that had collapsed.