Pathway to Brewing Success
Coffee production practices vary among communities
In meeting with these diverse communities, we learned that production practices and sales volume vary widely across the region. Farmers emphasized that their practices are influenced by many different factors, such as the age and density of coffee trees, local climatic conditions, severity of pest infestations, access to resources, and proximity to markets. We also found that chemical fertilizers and similar products were not commonly used due to high costs and a belief in the importance of organic farming methods.
Each community had different preferences for labor, pruning schedules, membership in coffee associations, and coffee storage. Gender dynamics were also evident: men reported managing and supervising coffee production activities, while women described their hands-on labor in picking, carrying, washing, and drying ripe coffee cherries.
Updating coffee yield estimations
Coffee farmers in PNG face challenges in estimating their yields because coffee cherries are picked as they ripen, often requiring three harvests from the same tree throughout the season. To address this, we worked with coffee-growing communities in our study area to estimate a dry coffee yield that can be calculated per hectare of coffee trees.
Recognizing that yields vary depending on the age of the coffee tree, we asked each focus group to estimate the share of their plots’ trees by age. During the second coffee harvest, we helped collect ripe cherries and then measured the weight of the cherries produced by one tree from each age category. Through this process, we were able to calculate the total harvest for an estimated one-hectare plot, finding that approximately 2,022–2,697 kgs of ripe cherries or 417—560 kgs of dry parchment can be harvested per hectare in the study area.
Engaging with Coffee Growers to Understand Production Challenges in Papua New Guinea's Highlands
Through discussions with men and women farmers, we learned about their perspectives on coffee production, including input use, pest control, weather shocks, labor, market access, and sales volume.
Rishabh Mukerjee, Harry Gimiseve, Wendy Safi, Emily Schmidt, Helmtrude Sikas-Iha, and Damaris Warambukia
Coffee is one of the most important smallholder cash crops in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Despite coffee’s economic importance, growers face production challenges and, on average, still struggle to meet household needs.
To better understand the complexities of coffee production in PNG, IFPRI collaborated with the University of Goroka’s Center for Social and Creative Media Division (CSCM) to conduct gender-differentiated focus group discussions (FGDs) with coffee farmers across Simbu and Eastern Highland Provinces (EHP).
The IFPRI-CSCM team worked together to select coffee communities, contact village chiefs, prepare interview guides, and conduct interactive focus group discussions. We visited 12 communities from the following areas:
Daulo District, EHP
Goroka District, EHP
Unggai-Benna District, EHP
Kerowagi District, Simbu
Challenges faced by coffee growers
During the focus group discussions, we asked farmers to describe and rank their major production challenges. Some of the commonly cited challenges include:
Most farmers reported that low or volatile farmgate prices for coffee are a major challenge. Growers expressed concern about earning a standard price by weight, regardless of quality. This led some farmers to shift from producing coffee to growing sweet potato and high-value vegetable crops, which yield two to three harvests per year.
A lack of community storage facilities, high transportation costs, and limited aggregators, traders, and processors were cited as major constraints to successfully negotiating farmgate prices.
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Farmgate prices
Coffee berry borer (CBB), a pest that significantly reduces yields, is spreading across PNG’s coffee-producing areas. CBB is currently more prevalent in warmer, low-elevation areas near highways or towns than in communities at higher altitudes.
Almost three-quarters of communities reported losing more than half of their harvest to CBB infestations during the last harvest season (March–June 2023). Farmers stressed the need for extension service providers to visit their communities and share information on best practices to combat CBB, as well as up-to-date information on how to increase yields.
Coffee berry borer
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During the focus group discussions, most women farmers reported that not having a coffee pulper is a significant constraint to profitable production. To borrow a coffee pulper and process their coffee cherries, households without this essential tool must make an in-kind payment of 5–10 kgs of parchment (partially processed coffee beans), the equivalent of 20–40 Papua New Guinea Kina.1 Similarly, growers who do not own a canvas to dry their coffee harvest must make cash or in-kind payments to borrow one.
1 According to average coffee prices per kg during the 2023 harvest.
Lack of processing and storage equipment
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As we traveled along the bumpy, narrow roads that connect farming communities to the main Highlands highway, it became evident why transportation poses such a significant challenge. Focus group participants told us that poor road conditions make it difficult for trucks to enter their community. To overcome this challenge, farmers hire laborers to carry large bags of coffee parchment to the main road. There, they wait for hours for public motor vehicles—privately owned vehicles that operate as taxi services—to transport the coffee to the main market. Farmers must pay for the laborers’ fare and an additional fee for each bag of coffee transported to the market.
High transportation and freight costs
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To help overcome the challenges of getting products to market, informal traders or “ground buyers” act as middlemen between growers and processors. Farmers explained that when these buyers arrive in their communities, local people, including children, steal ripe coffee cherries from their plots to sell for cash, which has led to increased violence. Farmers oppose the presence of these buyers in their communities, and they emphasized the need for stricter theft laws.
Theft
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Opportunities and next steps
In our recent work, we simulated the impact of a price stabilization policy on coffee production, finding that such a subsidy is costly and may not efficiently incentivize farmers to improve coffee yields. Investments to improve the quality, transportation, and processing of coffee may lead to greater benefits.
Identifying areas that qualify for organic coffee certification is another opportunity to increase the market value for PNG’s coffee. Under this scenario, a share of the price premium for organic coffee would need to be transferred to coffee producers. In addition, coffee producers would need to be supported to register for a certification, as well as be trained on how to meet specifications for organic certification or other types of certification.
Additional efforts to increase coffee yields could be aligned with the identification of niche market opportunities. Participants in focus group discussions indicated that extension services are desperately needed to provide communities with information on improved farm practices and cost-effective pest control solutions. In addition, better market access and financial strengthening of coffee associations were touted as important components to improving PNG’s coffee value chain.
Acknowledgments
This photo essay was produced as part of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Policy Support Program (PNG-AFNP), and is financially supported by the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through the Australia High Commission (AHC) in Port Moresby, and the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). This publication has been prepared as an output of PNG-AFNP and has not been independently peer reviewed. Any opinions expressed here belong to the author(s) and are not necessarily representative of or endorsed by IFPRI or the funding providers.
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