VANUATU: Cocoa beans exported to Singapore
Updated
A Vanuatu farmers cooperative has successfully exported its first cocoa beans to Singapore.The cooperative of farmers on Malekula and Malo exported a container of grade one cocoa to a large conglomerate, producing coffee, tea, and chocolates in Singapore.
Presenter: Sonja Heydeman
Speakers: Doresday Kenneth, Vanuatu Director of Agriculture; Francois Kavirere, Agriculture Officer, Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce
HEYDEMAN: The Vanuatu Department of Agriculture funded the project, which helped 13-hundred small farms produce first grade quality beans.
Director of Agriculture Doresday Kenneth says it's a vital agricultural initiative.
KENNETH: What we're trying to do here is an objective of allowing private sector to actively participate private sector land(?) development that the government has pursued as one of its priorities. So what has happened is that our staff together with the funding that was made available by European Union and by the Vanuatu government is to try and organise farmers according to what they have in their own land.
HEYDEMAN: The breakthrough opportunity to export to the international market has been the culmination of years of hard work.
Ms Kenneth says farmers have been given essential information and regular follow ups, to ensure they line up with importer's expectations.
KENNETH: Some actively participate in organising, facilitating quality control starting from the production level to actually processing the beans.
HEYDEMAN: However the plan has been not without its challenges.
Ms Kenneth says they have had to overcome some serious logistical issues to make the opportunity happen.
KENNETH: A lot of costs was on just infrastructure, transportation from the driers to the main wharf and then the shipment that we had to undertake from there to the main docks in Santo for exportation. And also communications that is there we would ... mean that our staff have to literally travel by the vehicle to go and pass on the information where there is no telephone.
HEYDEMAN: Francois Kavirere is the Agriculture Officer with the Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce.
He says there's been a great local response to the cocoa growing cooperative.
KAVIRERE: The firm really, the response is really positive and they're really happy but they're really happy to pay for the productivity of the firm itself. They are really going for it.
HEYDEMAN: Meanwhile, Director of Agriculture Doresday Kenneth says she see great potential ahead.
KENNETH: If this is becoming a success for us and the department, I mean that also could be the same for kava and also for coffee and also for spices, that now we have sort of established a cooperative for them in the different islands, now we're talking about kava with Mala-kula and Santo. Now moving onto ?? for the next stage, next year onwards. But that could also be possible for other islands and other commodities that is available. We need to just organise themselves better and make them understand why the need for cooperative and the need to understand why they were established in the first place. But until and unless the farmers understand why they need to collaborate to undertake and export in any commodities is for their advantage then there shouldn't be any problem.
