The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FOA) has Boosts Vanilla Farmers’ Association in Papua New Guinea, propelling Future Growth Through Peer-to-Peer Knowledge Exchange.
FAO, under the EU-STREIT Program in PNG, partnered with local agribusiness Mongs AgTrade Services Limited to bring together nearly 100 vanilla farmers, agripreneurs, and stakeholders from 40 farmer groups and agribusinesses across 10 districts in East and West Sepik Provinces for a farmer-to-farmer exchange in Mandi Village, East Sepik Province.
Held in January 2025, the event aimed to strengthen knowledge-sharing and sustainability measures for the vanilla value chain actors, empowered by the FAO, beyond the EU-STREIT PNG Program’s lifespan, facilitating the exploration of collaboration strategies for vanilla industry development in the Sepik.
During the event, Mongs AgTrade—an agri-enterprise in Mandi Village supported by the EU-STREIT PNG Program—showcased its success in exporting premium vanilla beans to overseas markets, illustrating how digital tools and services can broaden market access and highlighting achievements such as young women and men leveraging IT training from the Program to secure buyers in Canada and Australia.
Mongs AgTrade’s Chariman also explained how the group’s 200 farmers pool their harvests with neighbouring villages to meet export requirements, receiving payments directly into individual bank accounts for transparency.
Engaging discussions covered best practices in vanilla cultivation, processing techniques (including curing and drying), pest and disease control, and climate adaptation.
A field tour of Mongs’ vanilla plots offered firsthand demonstrations on vine management for higher yields.
Participants observed how strategic planting and collaborative pest-control measures bolster resilience against climate impacts, underscoring the potential for sustainable vanilla production in Papua New Guinea’s Sepik region.
Despite varying levels of progress among farmer groups, there was broad agreement among participants on the need for an umbrella association to coordinate efforts.
Attendees identified several critical agendas: Collaborative Production (partnering to meet export demand while maintaining uniform, high-quality vanilla), Market Competition (encouraging MSMEs to counter monopolies and improve local buying prices), Accessible Infrastructure (establishing buying points for remote communities, especially along the Sepik River), Peer-Led Training (continuing farmer-to-farmer extension services under a unified network), and Disease Management (distributing treated vines via a regional association to tackle fungal diseases).