Agriculture has the potential to drive wealth creation for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

ABG Minister for Public Service and Member for Hagogohe, Hon. Robert Hamal Sawa, made this statement when delivering the keynote address at the Bougainville Chocolate Festival in Arawa today.

Minister Sawa described Bougainville as a land that is rich in resources but faces capacity challenges to maximize the benefits of these resources.

“Bougainville has an abundance of resources, but is lacking technology and human capacity to drive these resources so that we can actually create our own wealth in the region,” he said.

Minister Sawa said the Autonomous Bougainville Government is now looking closely at establishing downstream processing for all raw materials in Bougainville.

“I believe in downstream processing, we have to add value to it [natural resources] and make good money from our end products,” he said.

Sharing the same sentiment was former Minister for Primary Industries and Member for North Nasioi, Hon. Nicholas Darku.

Mr. Darku in his remarks urged the government and all stakeholders to work together and do more to support the agricultural sector in Bougainville.

He highlighted the need to establish a regulatory authority under the Ministry and Department of Primary Industries, which he initiated in his former role as Minister for Primary Industries.

The purpose of this regulatory authority would be to oversee and facilitate the process for farmers to export products directly to national and international markets.

Current Minister for Primary Industries, Clarence Dency, in response, assured that the policy will be presented before the September sitting of the Bougainville House of Representatives.

He acknowledged the support from the Australia and New Zealand governments, and welcomed potential genuine investors who intend to help Bougainville achieve its goal of fiscal self-reliance through agriculture.

Counsellor to the Australian High Commission, Alistair McEachern, reaffirmed the Australian government’s support to economic and social development in Bougainville.

“Going forward, we’re going to continue investing in the agricultural sector in Bougainville,” he said.

Through this support, they will soon be rolling out eleven combination solar cocoa dryers and rehabilitating sixty traditional dryers with farmer groups across the region.

“We want to lift the quality of productivity of cocoa farmers in Bougainville because cocoa production is the best form of widespread economic development in Bougainville,” he said.

The First Secretary for the New Zealand High Commission, Adam Linell said the cocoa industry in Bougainville has strong potential to support long term economic development in Bougainville.

“All stakeholders here today can work hard to achieve this by successfully showcasing the quality of Bougainville’s cocoa by establishing new and higher value added markets, improving market linkages and boosting industry exposure,” he said.

He also reaffirmed New Zealand’s continuous support to the cocoa industry in Bougainville through the Commodity Support Facility program.

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