EU-STREIT PNG reaches and supports 3,000 plus rural women and girls in Papua New Guinea

In its ongoing mission to mainstream gender concerns and youth inclusion into the agri-food value chain, the EU Funded UN Joint STREIT PNG Programme in Papua New Guinea, in partnership with stakeholders, has conducted 12 sensitisation sessions and training workshops covering 5000 plus farmers, villagers, officials, extension service workers and students in East Sepik and Sandaun provinces during the first four months of this year.

These awareness and capacity building sessions, between January and April 2022, were conducted in 50 locations involving participants from 34 Wards in 22 Local Level Governments (LLGs). The sensitisation also covered three secondary schools, a primary school and a technical and vocational training centre.

Along with Gender and Youth sensitisation and capacity building activities, under the Cocoa, Vanilla and Fisheries value chain development initiatives led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), over 3000 girls of 16 years and above have been trained as lead farmers. These girls and women attended capacity-building trainings conducted in rural LLGs and Districts of East Sepik and Sandaun provinces. They have been enabled and mastered to pass on the acquired skills such as in Cocoa Propagation and Block Management and Vanilla Cultivation, Husbandry and Processing techniques to other fellows in their households or clusters. These trainees (ToT) would in turn maximising their reach to a larger number of beneficiaries in hard-to-reach rural communities, enabling more farmers to contribute towards increasing quantity/quality production for an increased income and cash flow among farming households and communities.

All capacity development trainings are facilitated in collaboration with extension service officers from the Cocoa Board, the Fisheries Authority, Divisions of Agriculture and Livestock and local NGO workers and it is envisaged to translate knowledge materials such as manuals in the local Tok Pisin language for better dissemination.

In terms of providing quality agriculture inputs, 2500 youths and women in 16 villages have received Cocoa Pod Borer (CPB) tolerant seedlings to replace old sterile trees.

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