Photo by Michelle Choi.
The World Bank has approved an additional $30 million (USD) disbursement to a government-run program in Papua New Guinea to benefit the coffee and cocoa industries.
The loan, expected to reach some 60,000 farmers, is part of the 4-year-old Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (PPAP), which launched in 2010 with approximately $21 million. The private/public partnership was created to help the approximately 85 percent of PNG’s residents who live in rural areas and rely on cash crops.
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“PNG’s coffee and cocoa production have both declined over the last decade as a result of a range of factors, including: a lack of extension services in many areas; inadequate replanting, with many trees over 40 years old,” the World Bank Board of Directors said in a joint announcement.
The project facilitates partnerships between farmers, NGOs, farmer cooperatives and local business. The World Bank says the additional funds will be used to double the number of existing coffee and cocoa partnerships to about 50. Partnerships are established through a competitive process.
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Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
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