In a bid to enable farmers to put into practice skills acquired during capacity-building trainings, the EU Funded UN Joint STREIT PNG Programme has started distributing tools and materials that will enable rural communities to improve their husbandry practices in cocoa and vanilla blocks. This intervention which started in May has so far distributed to 52 cocoa farmer groups in East Sepik Province and 38 cocoa farmer groups in Sandaun Province with 900,000 polybags, 90 shade cloths, 180 telescopic pole pruners, 90 measuring tape and 90 boxes of budding tape. These inputs will help the farmers to rehabilitate their blocks to improve the production of high-quality cocoa beans for an increased income to support their livelihood and families. These groups all have already received tailored training on cocoa bud grafting and block management organised by the Programme in collaboration with PNG Cocoa Board and Department of Agriculture and Livestock officers in the districts and LLGs . The skills acquired during these trainings assist the farmers to enhance their cultivation, farm management and harvesting practices. The 90 registered cocoa groups of over 45,000 farmers have started propagation of cocoa bod borer (CPB) tolerant seedlings in their respective nurseries.  The Programme will continue to support them, whereby each group will have their seedlings purchased and distributed to their respective members or farmers including youths and women for free. “I want to say thank you to STREIT PNG and the financiers of this Programme the European Union. The trainings we attended, we will now put into practice using these tools and materials,” said Mrs Maureen Mombi, whom with her husband Ben are organizing and supporting three farmer groups of 1500 members from Mushu Island, Hambraure Village (Wewak District) and Hambini Village (Ambunti-Drekikier District). For the vanilla value chain, the Programme has distributed 120 sets of vanilla cultivation, husbandry and processing tools including shovels/spade, gumboots, pruning baskets, harvesting knife, cooking pot, cooler box, strainer, thick clot, digital thermometer, kraft/wax paper, plastic canvas, and cardboard box to the farmers in 11 villages of Wewak District and 4 villages of Aitape/Lumi District. 6 Vanilla vines treatment shed with a 10,000 vines capacity has been established. The vanilla kits and sheds in total so far is supporting more than 4000 men, women and youths in rural Sepik. “The transfer of knowledge and skills to farmers and their families is an important extension activity that must be supported with tools and materials. Under the Programme we distributing these items as well with new technology to improve their practice,” explained Programme Coordinator Dr Xuebing Sun. “Tools and materials are vital link in adoption of technologies for sustainable farming systems which is being encouraged under the Programme,” added Dr Sun. Among the recipients were 1000 plus farmers from four remote communities of inland Turubu area in Wewak District, East Sepik Province. On behalf of youths and women in the village who will also benefit from this intervention, Brigitte Kamiresa, a mother at Mundangai Village, said: “I want to thank European Union. We mothers didn’t attend big schools so our youths or kids will help train us to use these tools and materials to improve our practices.” The national technical officers of cocoa and vanilla value chain have also explained on the local radios the distribution of tools and materials for farmer groups/clusters that have already been formalised and are supported under the rural agriculture development programme. “If you have transport, please come to the office at Wharf Road. For those in hard-to-reach areas, we will come to you,” said Mr Michael Lames, National Cocoa Value Chain Officer. The distribution of quality inputs by the Programme will continue to cover other farmer groups in the Programme’s implementation sites in East Sepik and Sandaun provinces. The EU-STREIT PNG, as a UN Joint Programme (FAO as leading agency, and ILO, ITU, UNCDF and UNDP as partners), is the largest grant-funded Programme of the European Union in the country and the Pacific region. Being implemented in close cooperation with the National and provincial government institutions, research entities, civil society organizations, and private sector enterprises, the Programme aims to help improve the lives of the people from East Sepik and Sandaun provinces, by focusing on increasing sustainable and inclusive economic development of rural areas through improved economic returns and opportunities from cocoa, vanilla and fishery value chains while strengthening and improving the efficiency of value chain enablers, including the business environment, and supporting sustainable, climate-proof transport and energy infrastructure development.

To create an enabling environment including farm-to-market roads to support cocoa, vanilla and fisheries farmers in the Greater Sepik Region, the ILO under EU Funded UN Joint STREIT PNG Programme, has recently engaged three local contractors to commence rehabilitation and specific maintenance of four farm-to-market access roads totalling 52.1 km in the Sepik Region of Papua New Guinea. The ILO signed the contracts with three local firms last week. The contracted firms are Hiawani Limited for the rehabilitation of 7.8 km Banak-Wautogik road in Wewak District, Midway Pacific Ltd for the Specific Maintenance of 12.8 km Balif-Araseli road in Maprik District, and Kaystar Construction Ltd for two (2) roads; Rehabilitation of a 6.5 km Munji-Haripmo road in Yangoru-Saussia District, and Specific Maintenance of 25 km Pasi-Krisa road in Vanimo-Green District, Sandaun Province.  These roads were selected based on high production of vanilla, cocoa and fisheries in the areas that are supported under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme. The contract duration of these specific lots and packages are 12 months and the contractors have been given two weeks to mobilise their resources including machineries to commence road works by 15 July 2022. The ILO Engineer will conduct regular supervision, monitoring and monthly meetings to discuss work progress, challenges and way forward. “We will not only monitor, we will be satisfied to support you by providing technical training to the key personnel of the contractors for continuous capacity development and quality assurance of sub-projects,” explained Mr Shailendra Kumar Jha, ILO’s Infrastructure Specialist/Chief Technical Advisor under the EU-STREIT PNG. “Given the delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic which has put a strain on the progress, I’m pleased to announce that this is a milestone achievement for the road transport infrastructure component to ensure we assist the government in its efforts to bring markets closer to the unreached in our focus areas,” said Dr Xuebing Sun, EU-STREIT PNG Programme Coordinator. The contractors were selected through the competitive bidding process using e-portal of United Nation Global Market Place (UNGM) to ensure principle of sustainable procurement of ILO. This is a totally new practice in the case of PNG where local contractors were trained on e-bidding and successfully submitted their bids using UNGM and ILO electronic Tendering System (eTS). As part of EU-STREIT PNG’s mandate to support capacity development, all contractors including their personnel will undergo training in technical areas like contract management and administration, Supervision, Quality Assurance and Quality Control, Material Testing and Laboratory Practice, environmental and social safeguards, occupational safety and health at construction site, and modern survey techniques using GIS (geographic information system) and Total Station. This is to ensure delivery of quality road transport works for EU-STREIT Programme in the Sepik Region while also fulfil PNG government’s requirement to develop professional contractors in the country. The contractors were excited and looking forward to complete sub-projects within allocated time frame of 12 months. Mr David Bannah of Midway Pacific Ltd said: “We’re very fortunate because we’re learning a lot of new things here, especially the UN ILO procurement process through e-bidding. As a local contractor I’m so proud to be associated with the Programme.” Mr Pious Hiawani of Hiawani Ltd added: “We know the ILO team will help us to become better contractors and many rural people will benefit here so I like to thank European Union (EU)-the donor agency and ILO under the STREIT Programme.” Under road transport infrastructure component led by ILO, 15 rural roads in the Sepik totalling 264kms in length will be rehabilitated to support the market access initiative implemented by the EU-STREIT PNG for rural farming communities to boost agriculture production and agribusiness activities pertaining to the three targeted value chains for an improved income and cash flow for the rural sector. The roads will also support other agricultural, business, social and community activities and facilities like schools, aid posts and health centres that are in dire need of better accessible roads. The EU-STREIT PNG, as a UN Joint Programme (FAO as leading agency, and ILO, ITU, UNCDF and UNDP as partners), is the largest grant-funded Programme of the European Union in the country and the Pacific region. Being implemented in close cooperation with the National and provincial government institutions, research entities, civil society organizations, and private sector enterprises, the Programme aims to help improve the lives of the people from East Sepik and Sandaun provinces, by focusing on increasing sustainable and inclusive economic development of rural areas through improved economic returns and opportunities from cocoa, vanilla and fishery value chains while strengthening and improving the efficiency of value chain enablers, including the business environment, and supporting sustainable, climate-proof transport and energy infrastructure development. 

Appreciating farming as a sustainable and viable business practice is the message from PNG Agriculture Company’s PNG Agbook who are partners with the UNCDF in the EU Funded Joint STREIT PNG Programme. PNG Agbook working with the PNG Cocoa Board, organized two sets of trainings for rural farmers in the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. A total of 23 farmers who represented farmer groups and agribusinesses in the Sandaun and East Sepik provinces were eager participants in the trainings conducted recently over a two-week period at the PNG Cocoa Board nursery site in Hawain, Wewak District, East Sepik Province. Facilitating the sessions was owner and Managing Director of PNG Agbook Company, Ms Nicole Isifu, a committed young woman inspired to challenge existing farming practices and to drive an increase in more active youth participation in agriculture – as entrepreneurs rather than as part-timers and labourers. The first module was on ‘financial literacy’ while the second session focused on ‘farming as a business’. Two participants manual booklets with simple instructions on topics covered in the sessions were also given to participants to take home and read at their own time. Farming as a Business Manual contains topics like Basics of Money, Financial Fitness, Savings, Budgeting and Borrowing. While the Farm Business Plan booklet contains subjects like Farm Production Plan, Market Plan, Farm Business Profitability and Managing Risks. “While farming provides a means for meeting household subsistence needs, the rationale is to add value out of this practice that must be business like and this is where financial literacy knowledge and farm management skills are crucial and necessary for rural communities in realizing the value  of agriculture  for an improved income and sustainable participation and living,” explained the EU Funded UN Joint STREIT Programme Coordinator Dr Xuebing Sun. The participants also benefitted from the presence of three other UNCDF financial institution partners under the EU Funded STREIT Programme. MiBank, WMBL (Mama Bank) and Cellmoni (Digicel) were invited to make special presentations to the farmers on their savings requirements, loan eligibility and the different products and services that are available to the three value chains.  The farmers attended as Trainers-of-Trainers and were expected to return to their clusters/groups to train other members including youths and women so this important knowledge to appreciate and practice farming as a business is passed on to others for a collective change in mindset by all in rural communities. For the participants, contents of the training were excellent and relevant to their household and farming needs where they can easily implement in their local areas. “We didn’t know how to save money with the bank so in times of need we can apply for small loans. If this training had come earlier, I think PNG would have change a lot,” said Xavier Kapia, a single male farmer from Mupa Cocoa Farming Group of Angoram District, East Sepik. “When I have a family, my children should not face the challenges of not completing their education just because of school fee problems. I will start saving now,” added Kapia who is still enjoying a young life. The training was beneficial to farmer groups as well to operate like a business. “With this financial literacy skills, we can now prepare proper documentations as one of the requirements of lending agencies to access small loans. My executives are village boys so I can go back and train them,” said Jimmy Makain, the Executive Officer of Wape Agriculture Marketing Group in the Lumi District of Sandaun Province. The group has a membership of 56 clusters comprising 1300 plus member farmers which includes youths and women from East and West Wape LLGs.   UNCDF partner under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme, MiBank, opened 22 new accounts from this meeting, not only from the participants, but also from locals living within the vicinity of the training area. The UNCDF under EU-STREIT PNG and in collaboration with local partners support implementation of activities related to access finance, rural banking and cashless banking systems. The Programme also support financial literacy of the beneficiaries and an improved business environment. The EU-STREIT PNG, being implemented as a UN joint Programme (FAO as leading agency, and ILO, ITU, UNCDF and UNDP as implementing partners), is the largest grant-funded Programme of the European Union in the country and the Pacific region, which focuses on increasing sustainable and inclusive economic development of rural areas through Increasing the economic returns and opportunities from cocoa, vanilla and fishery value chains and strengthening and improving the efficiency of value chain enablers including the business environment and supporting sustainable, climate-proof transport and energy infrastructure development.