Cocoa and Vanilla farmers in the country will soon earn more for their high-quality cocoa and vanilla exports.
The Australian-supported Market Development Facility signed a partnership with a leading cocoa and vanilla exporter, Elliven Limited to develop a traceability mechanism for supply chains and markets in the Morobe, Madang and East Sepik Provinces.
This new system will open up opportunities for close to 1500 Papua New Guinean farming families.
In agriculture, traceability mechanisms are used to identify and understand the movement and handling of the food supply through different stages – production, processing, and distribution, until it reaches the consumer.
“Traceability is important in value chains, and with MDF’s support, we hope to establish and improve PNG’s traceability systems to increase quality production in the agriculture sector,” MDF PNG Country Director Matthew Kanua said.
“There are buyers in international markets looking for good-quality traceable cocoa and vanilla. With a comprehensive database of our farmer suppliers and a system for managing it, we can establish a supply chain of quality cocoa and vanilla where smallholders will earn more than what they are currently earning,” said Elliven’s Managing Director, Ron Neville.
