By WASITA ROYAL
Copra farmers in Duke of York (DOY) Islands, long isolated by unsafe seas and costly freight, are set to receive a lifeline through a new three-month trial program.
The trial will see their produce shipped directly to Kokopo at the East New Britain Provincial Government’s expense.
The initiative, which aims to consolidate the cash crop at a central hub in Rakanda village for fortnightly transport, was finalized during a high-level meeting on Thursday.
By removing the burden of freight costs and establishing local buying points, the program seeks to stabilise an industry that has been crippled by logistics, with hopes it could trigger broader economic development in the island group.
The meeting at Rakanda Village was convened in response to desperate calls from farmers who have faced ongoing challenges in getting their copra to market. For years, growers have struggled through unsafe sea transport and had often relyed on overloaded motorized canoes or small dinghies and the prohibitively high cost of commercial freight, which eats into their already slim profits.
ENB Governor Michael Marum responded by directing the provincial administration to work with local leaders to find a practical, sustainable solution.
The meeting brought together a wide coalition of stakeholders, including representatives from the Governor’s Office, provincial administration, Kokonas Indastri Koporesen (KIK), the Kokopo City Authority, DOY LLG, and R&A Marine Services (RAMS), the company engaged to handle the shipping.
Under the finalized arrangement, the DOY LLG will identify approximately three local groups or SMEs to act as buying agents.
These agents will establish designated buying points and storage sheds across the islands to purchase copra directly from farmers. The produce will then be consolidated and transported to a main storage shed and loading port at Rakanda village. From there, RAMS will ship the copra on a proposed fortnightly basis to major buyers in Rabaul or Kokopo.
To make the program viable, farmers must aggregate their produce to meet a shipment capacity of approximately 1,000 bags per loading.
A key incentive is that the provincial government will cover the cost of freight during the trial period, encouraging farmers to sell through the local buying points instead of arranging expensive individual transport.
In the coming weeks, the DOY LLG will work with KIK to finalise designs for the storage sheds and discuss the issuance of copra buying licenses to the selected groups.
DOY LLG president Jack Kongkong welcomed the move but stressed the need for urgency, directing ward members to begin immediate awareness campaign.
“There have been many development discussions over the past 20 years, including the proposed Rakanda township,” Mr Kongkong said. “However, many of these plans have yet to materialize. With the clearing of this site for storage and fortnightly vessel docking, I believe it will trigger further development.”
He has demanded the program be finalized within the month.
Acting Deputy PA for Socio-Economic Services, Alkan Mararang, described the meeting as the beginning of an ongoing consultative process, emphasizing shared responsibility.
“Today, we all share equal responsibility to move this initiative forward. From our discussions, each stakeholder should now clearly understand their roles,” Mr Mararang said.
The meeting concluded with a list of six action items to be achieved in the coming weeks.
If successful, the three-month trial could transform the local economy, proving that with coordinated effort, the vast potential of the Duke of York Islands can finally be unlocked.