The Bougainville Chocolate Festival highlights showcases Bougainville’s rich culture, biodiversity, and the hardworking nature of its people. Photo: Autonomous Bougainville Government
The autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville held its annual chocolate festival in Arawa in last week.
The event, first held in 2019, aims to showcase Bougainville's cocoa production and to foster an interest in chocolate products.
Arawa Town came alive with an event that showcased the best of Bougainville's cocoa industry.
It comes at a time that Bougainville is seeking to develop an economy as it eyes independence from PNG.
Officially opened by President Ishmael Toroama, the festival had the theme, 'Improving innovation and information sharing for sustainable socio-economic empowerment'.
President Toroama called on farmers to embrace innovation and to share knowledge.
He drew on his own experience as a cocoa farmer before he entered politics, highlighting the role of agriculture in driving economic growth across the region.
Toroama also thanked the governments of Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea for their continuing support of the festival.
The New Zealand High Commissioner to PNG, Peter Zwart, was there, his first chocolate festival, and he seemed impressed.
"It was a great occasion. I understand it was bigger this year than previously," he said.
"There were a lot of stalls and activities, kind of designed for all ages, farmers and young people and kids. And they were great crowds. That was a really positive atmosphere."
This festival comes amid a surge in the returns on cocoa and Zwart said he saw plenty of signs of the benefits of this.
"Last year, a bag of cocoa beans, dried fermented cocoa beans, cost about 500 kina. This year it's been up over 2000 kina.
"I think at the moment it's settling about sort of 1700 kina but that's about four times the price that farmers are getting in return for their labours.
"So, there's a bit more cash around in Bougainville, which is encouraging."
He said he saw a few new bicycles, "shiny on the road, one or two new vehicles. I saw people carting building materials for houses. There's definitely reports of household solar being put in."
Zwart called on cocoa farmers to invest in their infrastructure for quality.
He said there is interest in improving the fermenteries and putting in solar dryers that can help improve the quality of the cocoa beans they produce.