A Europe Day reflection on how EU support is helping Sepik communities turn practical investments into stronger livelihoods, better local systems and lasting opportunity. 

Well-ventilated storage facilities keep cocoa and vanilla beans dry and in prime condition for sale. 

Four farmers cooperatives in East Sepik collaborate in their first cocoa export of 240 high-quality cocoa bags (15 metric tonnes) to a premium market in New Caledonia. 

When floodwaters damaged the only bridge connecting Hambini to the outside world, the farmers did not wait. Using community labour and savings from cocoa and vanilla sales, backed by the EU-STREIT PNG Programme, this remote community built a permanent bridge of steel, concrete and timber. The new crossing ends 22 months of isolation and difficult access for 9,000 villagers, restoring a vital route for people, goods and services. 

An Independent Evaluation Team commissioned by the European Union has wrapped up an intensive field mission across East and West Sepik, taking stock of how the EU-STREIT PNG Programme is strengthening cocoa, vanilla and fisheries value chains and improving rural livelihoods in the Sepik region.

At St. Ignatius Secondary School in Aitape, a Digital Resource Centre established by ITU and FAO under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme is helping to improve both learning and livelihoods. Rural students are using computers and the internet for the first time, while local farmers and agripreneurs are using the same facility to learn digital skills, promote their products online and grow their small agribusinesses. 

On a field visit to cocoa and vanilla communities in the region, the Ambassadors of the European Union and Denmark  toured production sites, processing facilities and upgraded infrastructure, where they saw how an EU-funded initiative is helping smallholders move beyond subsistence, build viable agribusinesses, secure better prices for quality produce and create new opportunities for women and youth.