Kotiufa Villagers return to Coffee

The only way to increase production is to plant more coffee trees. 

Whilst the drop in annual coffee production and loss in revenue was the subject of debates in Parliament recently, the Kotiufa villagers of Iufi-iufa tribe outside Goroka were busy learning how to develop their coffee nurseries.

The participants learned various stages of nursery development including; demonstrations  on identifying coffee varieties, soil preparation, seed preparation, planting of seeds in poly bags and beds, and planting of the coffee seedling in the field. 

Owner of the Mitega Coffee Mill, Jack Gasowo was the lead trainer, assisted by coffee advocate Aven Negio, who sponsored the training. Gasowo shared his 30 plus years of experience in coffee work ranging from crop husbandry, post-harvest management to export.

He told the villagers not to be discouraged by the current decline in coffee prices and to plant more coffee. He told them that if they have good nurseries, they will have good seedlings to plant and that is the start of their journey to be good coffee growers. 

The Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) representative told the participants that there are always cycles of éxito and bursts due to various factors but if Kotiufa villagers can work as a group and through better post-harvest management practices, they can produce better quality coffee and fetch better prices.

Nipie Hurutuve of Kotiufa Village who had more than 20 years of coffee experience working for a leading coffee exporter said no one can deny the important role of coffee in the society since the beginning. He said coffee has been the number one crop in sustaining livelihoods so he encouraged the participants not to abandon coffee.

Raymond Jeff, Kusco Hurutuve and other young leaders of Kotiufa who were concerned about people neglecting coffee, initiated the training. Jeff said people have neglected coffee and turned to other crops such as kaukau to sustain themselves. Thus he invited CIC and other government and non-government institutions to collaborate with them in delivering trainings that will sustain livelihoods at the village level.

More than 100 participants from Kotiufa and Iufi-iufa turned up for the training. The next training will be held after the commencement of the school.