Coffee can be converted from a multi-million-kina crop to a billion-kina industry in the next 10 years with an ultimate aim of producing three million bags by 2030.
Industry Corporation (CIC) Acting Chief Executive, Charles Dambui, said this can be achieved through teamwork among the CIC, value chain partners, key stakeholders and relevant government stakeholders
He said this at the launch of the National Coffee Development Roadmap 2020-2030 (NCDR) and the CIC strategic business plan 2020-2024 (CIC SBP) in Goroka recently, which was attended by Prime Minister James Marape, and Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, John Simon.
He said the main ingredients to make the goals in the NCDR and CIC SBP attainable are maintaining law and order, improving infrastructure, communication, accessibility to banking services, and information sharing.
“We see that those are the main ingredients to make our goals in the NCDR and CIC SBP attainable. Hence, we at CIC are ready to promote teamwork with respective state departments, government agencies, and the business community to drive the industry forward.”
Dambui said it would cost half a billion over the ten-year period to roll out the programs in the two plans.
“The industry generates close to K400- K500 million per annum. What we are asking for is what can be recovered within two or three years’ time.”
“Let me assure the Prime Minister and government of the day that these two documents will also put our board and management on notice if we are not living up to it and delivering then it’s pointless for us to be sitting on the chair and complaining as we all can be changed.”
“We believe that we can achieve and deliver on the government’s targets provided that whatever that we have stated in the plan is executed not only by CIC but with the support from all our stakeholders.
Dambui said in the NCDR, there are programs to increase the income of farmers and that is the vision.
“Stakeholders must embrace this vision to revive and grow industry as an important sub sector of the PNG industry. If we increase income of our farmers, three million bags is achievable. Everyone must take ownership.”
He said the plan captures all the problems and identifies solutions to the problems.
“One of the immediate supports that we see is the introduction of price support scheme and freight subsidy to incentivize our farmers to stay in coffee business.”