PNGUoT Farm Sells 10,000 Hybrid Cocoa Clones to Wafi-Golpu -

PNGUoT Farm Sells 10,000 Hybrid Cocoa Clones to Wafi-Golpu

By Abednego PETER (Intern)

The Papua New Guinea University of Technology’s ( PNGUoT) Agriculture Farm successfully sold its first bulk order of 10,000 of the eighteen variety hybrid cocoa clone seedlings to Wafi- Golpu last week Tuesday.

***The official handover of the cocoa seedlings to Wafi-Golpu at PNGUoT’s Farm- Taraka Campus.***

Those seedlings were grown at PNGUoT’s farm budwood garden and commercial nursery.

This was a key milestone for the PNGUoT farm following its continuous partnerships with other projects.

These seedlings were purchased by the Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture (WGJV) under their cocoa program, in partnership with the PNG Cocoa Board, for K55,000 and were handed over to the Buimo Correctional Institute. This program will be used to plough inmates’ valuable farming skills while contributing to the local cocoa industry.

Mr Joseph Kimagl, Farm Manager at PNGUoT Farm, spoke about this milestone and the effort behind this achievement.

“To raise 10,000 seedlings is very hard work. Many will say they have the capacity but when I work, I see that it’s not easy to produce 10,000 seedlings…Wafi-Golpu came in a big way. Their demand in their program is very high. By the end of this year, we should have about 100,000 seedling capacity just to cater for the high demand.”

“These cocoa seedlings are sold for five kina per poly bag”.

He highlighted that the farm aims to promote all 18 varieties of hybrid cocoa clones by not allowing farmers to purchase only one or two varieties.

He also emphasized the importance of confirmed orders and timely payments for smooth operations.

“Do the payment, after three months, you get your seedlings. Because we cannot do the cloning and when no one comes to buy it, then it’s a loss to us. It’s better to make a 75% upfront payment so that we can manage efficiently.”

Joseph added, “The PNGUoT partnership with the PNG Cocoa Board is serious business, so we will ensure that our seedlings have to go to the farmers.”

PNGUoT’s Agriculture Farm is an important part of the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, and it focuses on producing high-quality seedlings and supporting agricultural research. The farm has facilities like a Budwood garden and a commercial nursery, which allows it to grow 18 varieties of hybrid cocoa clone seedlings for farmers and institutions.

The farm not only provides practical learning for students but also works with partners to improve farming in Papua New Guinea. Through its work, the farm helps in advancing agriculture and supporting community development.

WGJV Sustainability Project Manager Mrs. Sheila Harou, , praised Unitech’s reliability.

“Preparation of the seedlings is on time, and you won’t find such quality here. It’s an institutional arrangement. When you go to farmers themselves or cooperatives, they are yet to pick up their actions. But with a bigger institution like PNGUoT, I think it’s more reliable.”

On behalf of The Department of Correctional Services Officer In Charge of Agriculture and Livestock, Senior Inspector Geno Goli thanked everyone and said, that this will be a pilot project and believed it will have a positive impact in the future.