The posting – believed to be a world first – shows the government’s commitment to expanding key agricultural industries, said Prime Minister James Marape, who won re-election earlier this month after an election plagued by violence and allegations of voter fraud. For the first time, Marape also appointed a minister for palm oil. “The appointments put special emphasis on agriculture in a very important way, to see the development of agriculture in the country,” he said on Tuesday when he announced the new 33-member cabinet. “Agriculture is where the government can have the biggest impact in terms of the population of this country because most of our people are subsistence farmers. We have land and we must encourage our people to go into agricultural production.” The coffee and palm oil ministries sit alongside the main agriculture ministry, which is headed by Goroka MP Aiye Tambua. The coffee minister is the new MP, Joe Kuli, from Anglimp-South Waghi, in the Central Highlands region. PNG coffee has emerged as a desirable import in recent years, with coffee shops across Australia, the US and Japan serving coffee from beans grown in PNG. Marape said the coffee industry needs to be revitalized to bring in more export revenue. Kuli understood the challenge, he said, because he hails from Jiwaka’s Wahgi Valley, which was once a huge coffee plantation but has been overrun by bushes. “Minister Kuli’s focus will be on coffee, coffee and coffee. I want to drink coffee made in Goroka, Mount Hagen, Lae and other parts of the country. I want to see more coffee grown for export to the world’s profitable markets.” Coffee production in the country is dominated by small-scale, village-based farmers who produce nearly 85% of the country’s annual crop. It is a source of income for nearly two million people – about a quarter of the population – according to the agriculture and livestock department. Coffee is the country’s second largest agricultural product after palm oil, accounting for 27% of all agricultural exports and 6% of the country’s GDP. Francis Maneke, the MP for Talasea, in West New Britain, has been appointed the new palm oil minister, responsible for growing trees from which palm oil can be produced. “Palm oil is the largest agricultural product in PNG, contributing about 40% – K1.2 billion annually – of PNG’s agricultural export earnings,” Marape said. “We have so much land lying idle and Minister Maneke will be tasked to use it to increase production as well as help the existing industry grow,” he said.
