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Hope For Menyamya’s Organic Coffee Producers

Over the last 15 years, coffee growers in Menyamya made a name for themselves as some of the top producers of organically grown coffee.

From humble coffee plots tucked away in the mountainous region, the coffee beans find their way to the world markets so far removed from this place.

 

“We don’t use pesticides or chemical fertilizers,” says Joel Apmamgo. “We also pay close attention to the amount of sunlight the coffee trees get.” 

 

Apmamgo, has been a coffee farmer since 1999. Like other farmers in this region, he came to understand the international value of organically grown coffee through community awareness. 

 

He is one hundreds of farmers whose main source of revenue comes from coffee harvests every six months. But in a remote place like Menyamya, making money and staying in business can be a daunting challenge. 

 

Apmamgo’s main business center is the old government station of Menyamya. Built in the colonial days, under the Australian administration, the station is closer to the borders of Eastern Highlands and Gulf provinces than it is to Lae City.

   

Menyamya’s strategic location makes it an ideal spot for trade. Every week, coffee from the largely inaccessible areas of the Gulf and the Eastern Highlands are brought to Menyamya to be transported to Lae.

 

But over the last 10 years, coffee production suffered because of deteriorating roads. Between 2010 and 2012, Elijah Timothy built a business around the transportation of coffee.   

 

He was, by Menyamya standards, a wealthy businessman with 15 Toyota Landcruisers and assets worth over K500, 000. 

 

A few years into operation, he sold off more than two quarters of his fleet because his costs became too high.

 

“The depreciation on the value of vehicles is unbelievable,” says Timothy. “After two years, we sell each vehicle for lousy K40, 000.”

 

Despite the region’s economic importance, very little attention was given to the important road link.  

 

Much of the blame, for the bad roads has been leveled against Menyamya MP, Benjamin Phillip.

 

But like many members of parliament from rural electorates, he faces his own challenges of high mobilization costs of contractors, as well as the high cost of service delivery that eats up about 70 percent of the development budget.

 

The future for Menyamya now looks very promising. With increased funding to the districts in the 2014 budget, roads are being fixed for the first time in 20 years.  

 

A contractor is currently gravelling road sections and fixing drainage.

 

Within the next 12 months, business confidence is expected to return. Costs will come down and profits will again be made in Menyamya.

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