GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS PNG COCOA BOARD WITH K4 MILLION

The Government through the Department of National Planning and Monitoring (DNPM) has stepped in to assist farmers in rural areas to transport their produce to markets.

Secretary for the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, Koney Samuel presented a funding support of K4 million to the Cocoa Board of Papua New Guinea (PNG) Chief Executive Officer, Jesse Anjen during a small ceremony in Kokopo on Friday 13th June 2025.

Mr. Samuel said the funding support is an illustration of the National Government’s determination and commitment to strengthen efforts to build and expand the cocoa industry, particularly in remote and rural areas where transport remains a major challenge.

“It has been difficult for our farmers over many years and although we have been running Freight Programs for Coffee and Cocoa farmers, this has been insufficient.

With this support now, they can do a lot more in terms of reaching out to our farmers in the rural areas and bringing those produce to the markets,” Mr. Samuel said.

The funding is provided under the Capital Investment Program, specifically through the Freight Subsidy Program, managed by the DNPM for commodity boards such as the Cocoa Board and the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC).

Cocoa Board CEO Mr. Jesse Anjen welcomed the funding, describing it as timely and impactful.

“I thank the Marape-Rosso Government for being a strong advocate of the agriculture sector and recognizing that it is key driver for economic growth. Our goal is to grow the cocoa industry into a K4 billion sector. One of our key initiatives, the Cocoa Freight Program, has already proven its worth.

A previous investment of K22 million under the program has generated over K164 million in returns. This is one of the success stories we have had from the Freight Program,” Mr. Anjen said.

He explained that the Freight Program not only reduces transport cost for farmers but also supports infrastructure development.

“We are establishing storage facilities at key points along the value chain to help consolidate produce for shipping or air transport. This additional K4 million will allow us to continue expanding these services in remote areas,” Mr. Anjen said.

Mr. Samuel’s visit to the East New Britain Province is part of the 2025 Inter-departmental Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Exercise which has been carried out around the country for 3 weeks.

The M&E Exercise is designed to track the impact of Public Investment Program (PIP) funding from 2022 to 2024.

The M&E exercise includes four key government agencies including the Departments of Treasury, Finance, Provincial and Local Government Affairs (DPLGA), and Implementation and Rural Development (DIRD)—who are partnering with DNPM in this coordinated national initiative.