Overview
In PNG, coffee is produced by smallholders, block-holders and plantations. With the demise of the coffee estates, there is a widely held perception that the quality of PNG coffee fell and, as a result, the price of PNG coffee declined relative to the world price.
The long-term aim of this project was to improve economic returns to PNG smallholder coffee producers and the industry through delivering a more consistent and higher quality product.
Quality means not only providing customers with products that consistently meet their specifications, but quality also encompasses the way a supplier goes about meeting the needs of their customers, providing the product on time, in the quantity required, correctly packaged and correctly invoiced.
In order to have some meaningful long-term impact on the PNG coffee industry, intervention is required at the grower level, at the supply chain level, and at the industry or national level.
At the national level, (1) the poor state of the roads and transport infrastructure; (2) the insecurity of land ownership and tenure; and (3) lawlessness must be addressed. Without appropriate Government intervention, any efforts to improve the quality of the coffee produced by smallholder growers will be compromised.
At the industry level, there is a clear need to build more direct linkages between coffee growers and the traders and exporters. Effective linkages with the private sector can only be made where smallholder growers are empowered and there is active dialogue between the parties.
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