It was a friendly welcome with smiles and admiration as the European Union delegation toured Angoram in East Sepik Province.
Cheering the visit, the visibly contented villagers performed an inspiring welcome ceremony, enriched with their genuine cultural heritage.
Head of EU Delegation to PNG, Ambassador Videtič, led the delegation away from their busy schedules to visit the Pangin Village to overview the varied support given to cocoa farmers including a cocoa nursery under the STREIT PNG Porgramme.
Addressing the community, Ambassador Videtič highlighted that the EU-Funded STREIT Programme aims to help the farmers generate more income thereby improving school and health services for their kids and families.
Interacting with the farmers, the Delegation engaged with and was briefed by the community members and Programme staff on the steps taken to empower cocoa farmers through training and provision of inputs.
Two lead farmers, trained by the EU-STREIT Programme, also demonstrated how they were enabled to perform budding and revive their pest-infested cocoa gardens using pest-tolerant seedlings.
Travelling along Mighty Sepik River's tributaries, the mission also had the opportunity to witness how the hard-working Water Maintenance Groups, trained, equipped, and recruited by the Programme, helping river-bank communities to pass through debris-blocked waterways, to access markets, towns, and health posts.
Supporting farmers to forge ahead along the value chains is a major task envisaged by the Programme.
The EU Delegation said training cocoa fermentary owners is crucial for building the capacity of the rural communities to carry out quality and quantity value chain activities, from production to marketing.
The EU Delegation attended a Cocoa Assessors Training, which brought together 50 cocoa fermentary owners from Angoram District.
The team also addressed, interacted with, and received comments shared by the participants.
The team also visited, greeted, and overviewed the works of a Road Maintenance Group, trained, equipped, and recruited by the Programme in Angoram.
