Vanilla

1400 vanilla farmers certified

Kamapim Ltd. together with more than 1,394 farmers from 17 remote villages from Yikmol and Kokomav Associations in Madang have successfully become US (NOP) organically certified and are in conversion for organic certification for Australia and Europe. 

Certification schemes give the customer the assurance that the produce they are buying is being produced organically with full traceability. 

Western province focus on growing more vanilla

Provincial administrator and director for West Agro Holdings and a Vanilla Farmer himself, Robert Kaiyun, Fly Vanilla started buying beans from farmers in mid-2022, paying out in excess of PGK 5,500 to near 100 farmers for 70kg of green and dried vanilla beans. Currently the interest in vanilla farming is increasing.

Starting with vanilla there will be other high value cash crops identified and designed in the West Agro master plan.

“Kamapim” green gold in Madang

“Kamapim” is a Belgian company dealing with vanilla, buying from locals and exporting to Belgium and other overseas nations. They encounter many farmers from different districts in Madang and many others from other provinces as well.

For now, they are the only vanilla buyers in Madang at the moment.

One of their model is Sustainable agricultural practices for farmers, especially with cash crops, by starting with Vanilla. They connect farmers to the market and enable farmers to attract buyers into Madang. Kamapim encourages a better livelihood through vanilla selling.

Low Farming Production Factors Revealed

The study outlined that the lack of requisite knowledge and skills at all levels of production, inadequate transport and market infrastructure and limited financial literacy knowledge negatively affect the wellbeing of rural households in the Sepik Region.

Youth Keen On Training

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the EU Funded UN Joint STREIT Programme in PNG recently conducted six capacity building trainings for cocoa and vanilla farmers in different remote parts of the Greater Sepik Region.

The interests shown by the youths were the highlights in all training venues who made up 54 percent of total 626 trainees.

Morobe commits to vanilla industry

The Governor recently attended the launch of Mumeng Vanilla Cooperative export certification.

When receiving the export licence for Mumeng Vanilla Cooperative, Saonu said MPG has support for economic empowerment activities and stands ready to assist local farmers venture into exporting activities.

“Morobe has the agricultural economic potential in coffee, cocoa and now vanilla which will boost the livelihood of the simple majority of Morobeans, especially in the rural areas,” he stated.

Why let Indonesia export our vanilla?

Buyers from Indonesia are paying good money for high quality PNG vanilla beans.

Although that is great news for the local growers, Maprik MP John Simon thinks otherwise.

He says when sold to Indonesia, Indonesia claims it as its own, and exports overseas under its tag, making its name globally as one of the top suppliers of vanilla, apart from Madagascar.

PNG is losing millions in kina this way.