Training to lift quality

By ILEEN KAMBILAPI
DESPITE producing 906 metric tonnes of cocoa from the 2020-2021 season by farmers in Wosera-Gawi, East Sepik, most of that crop was of poor quality, an official says.
District cocoa development officer Benjamin Niakra said steps were taken to educate farmers to produce beans of a higher quality through higher standards and methods of planting, tending, harvesting and drying.
Local farmers attended a recent week-long cocoa quality assessor training in Maprik last week.
Niakra said Wosera-Gawi had the potential to produce high quantity of cocoa.
“The training was delivered well where all 53 farmers who attended understood the difference in cocoa production in terms of quantity and quality,” he said.
“I believe they will go and educate people back in the villages to follow proper processes to get quality results in their cocoa production.”
Training facilitator Nancy Kipan said the main aim of the training was to educate the farmers on the grading of their cocoa production in regards to the quality.
Kipan said the training was to enable the farmers to meet the cocoa quality standards in the world market. He said the farmers realised that the quality of cocoa was an important factor that determined grading and price.
He said production was adequate in terms of quantity but consistency in processing needed to be better to ensure the best yield.
Farmer and fermenter Kelly Kauken said he had been producing cocoa since 2008 without realising the importance of quality control.
“I may have a high production of cocoa in terms of quantity but this quantity is nothing if I don’t produce with good quality,” he said.
“Therefore, as a fermentary owner I will go back and educate my people in the village to follow proper processes which I will observe to make sure they produce quality cocoa to sell to me.
“My aim now after the training is to become one of the top farmers in the country that will produce quality cocoa that contributes to PNG’s export.”