coffee

28-year-old Jonathan Dian has been in this business since 2015.

“There is no proper road or access to move coffee out so small-scale buyers in the village, like me, we help by buying their coffee and at the same time, pay men to carry the coffee bags to wherever the pickup point is,” said Jonathan.

On average, Jonathan hires three carriers for K20 each to move his coffee bags from Indagen to Konge, which is a three-hour walk.

The agreement will cover a five-year partnership (2023-2027) valued on kina to kina basis. This will progress and increase coffee production in the district.

The deal was signed by Coffee Minister Joe Kuli, Kerema MP Thomas Opa, Gulf Governor Sir Chris Haiveta, and CICL chief executive officer, Charles Dambui, and witnessed by the Gulf Administration, coffee ministry and the CICL at Parliament House.

The signing now allows for support to come from both parties in terms of financial and human resource capacity to carry out coffee work in Gulf. 

Pomio coffee farmers produce the largest amount of coffee, but are currently selling their produce to the mainland after the factory at Kabakaul in Kokopo shut down following the death of its manager a few years back.

Realising the need to bring the market closer to the people, the Pomio District Development Authority, through its board, decided to set up a coffee factory in the district’s headquarters at Palmalmal.

President of the Highlands Farmers and Settlers Association (HFSA), Wilson Thompson commended the Cocoa Board and Agmark NGIP, Eliven Cocoa and Middleton and Sons and smallholder farmer members that continues to drive the industry.

The Cocoa industry export figures for 2022 is 40,024 metric tonnes of export bringing in total of K313,603,141 million foreign currency.

This is increase from 2021 at 36,540 metric tonnes valued at K308,137,759 which is on the steady increase from 2021 at 32,905 metric tonnes (K274,863,434 million).

‘Kalibobo Delight’ has been shipped to the South Korean market with another prospect in place to export to Dubai as well.

Anan Coffee Cooperative Society is from the Kovon Local Level Government in the Middle Ramu District of Madang Province. It was established in 2014 with capital gained from 86 registered members. To date the group has grown its membership to 1754. It consists of four ‘mama’ groups and 127 SME groups.

The challenges must be addressed to move the country’s coffee industry forward into the future.

The National Research Institute (NRI) Spotlight Volume 16, Issue 9: “Prospects of coffee production and initiatives for addressing challenges faced by coffee growers in Papua New Guinea” by Associate Professor Eugene Ezebilo, the Deputy Director for Research at the PNG NRI highlights the opportunity for coffee production in PNG, challenges that coffee growers in Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands and Morobe Provinces face and some potential ways to address the challenges.

CBBs are spreading rapidly across coffee growing provinces, destroying coffee cherries and threatening the coffee industry. These 1.5mm black insects bore into the coffee cherry and destroy the valuable coffee bean inside. As a result, exporters are reporting lower quality and quantity of crops. CBB infestation rates in the Jiwaka, Western Highlands and Eastern Highlands Provinces are very high, causing a drastic drop in incomes for smallholder coffee farmers.

Under the coordination of the project officer of the Anglican Church Partnership Program, Morrison Wiam, three coffee plantations were started at Kronum, Tmnek and Golden Coffee Plantation.

“37,000 coffee trees were planted for Kronum Coffee Plantation in 2020 while the other proposed sites (Tmnek and Golden) are yet to develop,” said Wiam.

Wiam said 11 clans and 50 households, along with more than 1,500 farmers from the five wards, are behind the project.

Founder and chairman of Hamtai Coffee Group Ltd, Den Anas, said the people of Menyamya have been growing coffee since 1950, and have been cultivating and harvesting their produce without any form of support from the district, provincial and national government for 72 years.

Anas formed the Hamtai group in 2018, and he currently has a membership of 2,112 coffee farmers. Of that number, 713 graduated from quality training in March this year.

The coffee farmers are now appealing to relevant authorities to assist with much-needed facilities.

With the Government focus in agriculture to boost economic growth in the country, the launching is timely as Jiwaka is home of coffee production.

MP Marape was accompanied by Minister for Finance, Rainbo Paita, Minister for Agriculture, Aiye Tambua, Minister for Oil Palm Francis Maneke and other Government leaders.

The 2023 Budget promotes and supports the growth of Agriculture Micro Small and Medium Enterprises fitting into the commercial and downstream processing space.