Cocoa Value Chain Development

The Greater Sepik Region is a vast, resource-rich area in the northwestern part of Papua New Guinea. The region has excellent agro-ecological potential to produce valuable agricultural economic crops and to further downstream agri-business' activities development.
However, this potentiality mostly remained untapped or under-developed, mainly due to a lack of sufficient investment, support and capacity, and insufficient infrastructures, leaving the region less equipped with resources to progress toward sustainable economic development.
Since 2013, and due to Cocoa Pod Borer (CPB) pest infestation, the Sepik Region has experienced a significant decline in its cocoa production. The pest invasion has forced farmers to abandon infested cocoa blocks, which has led to the closing of most of the cocoa dry bean exporters in the region.
To bring a transformational, lasting change to the region, the EU-STREIT PNG in close partnership with the Cocoa Board and Provincial Division of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL), provides support and offers technical assistance to the producers, agripreneurs and local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs) as well as governmental authorities to increase the economic returns and opportunities from cocoa value chain.

Adopted Approach

The Programme focuses on increasing profitability of farmers producing cocoa in the Programme's targeted areas, increasing number of people and enterprises engaging in and benefiting from improved cocoa value chain development, and ensuring women and youths' involvement in decision-making process with increased income from cocoa value chain activities
The envisaged supports from EU-STREIT PNG include establishing and upgrading cocoa budwood gardens and nurseries in strategic locations across the Programme implementation's areas, rehabilitating the existing cocoa blocks, promoting sustainable and improved climate-change adapted and good agricultural practices, improving and rehabilitating fermentaries enterprises, enhancing market access and linkages of value chain actors at provincial, national and international levels, strengthening women and youths engagement in and benefitting from cocoa value chain activities, and strengthening the capacity for adaptive research and cocoa demonstration facilities of regional technical institutions.