Local cocoa farmers in the East Sepik province are working towards having downstream processing for cocoa so that they can benefit more from the cocoas they produce. Mupa Cocoa Farming Founder and Director Mr. Sperian Kapia said that is one thing the farmers in Angoram district are doing with the help from partners like the European Union (EU). He said the farmers in the Yuat Local Level Government (LLG) want to establish a working downstream processing so to manufacture a semi- complete product to sell to the markets. “So, we want to produce powder (cocoa powder) in our villages so that we can sell and also add value to our product,” said Kapia. This is because with downstream processing, the farmers will do away with the middle- man or the buyer and make some good money from selling the powder directly to companies manufacturing finished cocoa products like chocolates. “We need to get them to downstream processing so that we give our farmers good prices so that the real farmers can enjoy the benefits.” He said in a village setting, some of the benefits this could bring about include access to better services like health and education. That is why the group of farmers is working on it and its getting better with the support of Streit PNG Program funded by EU. “Currently, there are 1, 500 seedlings in the nursery to distribute in the Yuat LLG by December. Our target is to get 250, 000 trees so that when we have the downstream processing facility, the consistency of supply will always be there,” he said. Mr. Kapia was at the 2022 EU- PNG Trade and Investment Conference in Port Moresby recently as a guest invited to showcase his cocoa products, which includes cocoa beans and even the finished product, chocolate. He said it is such events that expose local cocoa farmers to markets, even overseas markets and he was privileged to showcase products produced by his fellow cocoa farmers in East Sepik province.