Communities in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) and East New Britain (ENB) province have expressed their deep gratitude to the National Government and the World Bank following the 10th Implementation Support Mission (ISM) visit for the Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (PACD) Cocoa Project.

The World Bank team, led by Mr. Allan Oliver, Senior Agriculture Specialist and Team Leader of PACD, is in Papua New Guinea for its biannual ISM from September 24 to October 6, 2025, to assess the progress of both the cocoa and coffee components of the PACD project.

The mission began its visit to the Cocoa Project Management Unit (PMU) in Buka Island, where they inspected project partnerships and the nearly completed Teobhuin-Sipotavai 5.8 km Agriculture Feeder Road.

The team then traveled to East New Britain to visit the Vunapalading-Burit Road and the Ivon-Kulungere road, as well as local grower partnerships.

Mr. Oliver congratulated the Cocoa PMU on their commitment, noting that the feeder roads are a “lifeline for farmers and communities.”

“We say thank you to the government for these kinds of initiatives working with the different commodity boards that we are benefiting from.”

“We are happy that this project is helping you to increase revenue and income but at the same time all must look after revenue so that you build good house, savings in the bank and increase asset base in the cocoa industry.”

The newly constructed roads are designed to withstand all weather conditions, a vital development that communities say is the first of its kind in forty to fifty years.

Meanwhile, Joycelyne Karevui, Acting District Coordinator for Tinputz, called the road infrastructure a “significant milestone” that will improve connectivity, facilitate economic growth, enhance social services, and boost trade across the region.

Speaking to beneficiaries, Mr. Oliver emphasized that the funding is a loan from the World Bank.

He strongly encouraged farmers to “continue to grow cocoa and toil the land” to increase the country's export revenue, which will ultimately go toward repaying the loan.

The Bank's mission is focused on projects like PACD to reduce poverty and promote shared prosperity in communities.

Moreover, he advised that as income and revenue increase, people should look after it by building good houses, saving in the bank, and increasing their asset base in the cocoa industry.

The mission is currently scheduled to visit the projects under the PACD Coffee Component in the Highlands Region.