Farmers based deep in a remote rainforest in the Sepik Region of Papua New Guinea are successfully promoting their produce, pure vanilla, online as a result of the partnership with ITU under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme. For these farmers, digital skills and e-commerce trainings have allowed them to advertise and promote their produce online, access to e-marketplace, leading to international sales and a boost in vanilla trade.

The Sepik Region depends on its agriculture sector, however it has faced challenges due to the country’s remote location and lack of resources and connectivity.

The EU-STREIT PNG Programme has established seven Resource Centres and Digital Hub in Secondary Schools in both East Sepik Province and West Sepik Province to advance connectivity. The programme has delivered and installed desktops and the National ICT Authority connected 4G signal to create a hub for vanilla value chain development and education.

The Digital Hub holds digital skills trainings, where the farmers are taught how to communicate online, by writing marketing proposals and learning e-commerce skills using online platforms and social media which will give access to e-marketplaces and promote their produce. The programme helps to connect farmers with buyers abroad, increasing market access and encouraging global cooperation.

This training has allowed PNG farmer agropreneurs to export vanilla using digital and e-commerce skills for the first time.

So far, 1014 farmers have completed full five days trainings, and the programme is working towards gender equality, as 40% of the participants are women.

Jenelyn Mamba, a farmer in Turuba LLG, Wewak District, attended the digital skills and e-commerce trainings in 2023, where she learnt how to create websites to find international markets and sell her village’s produce online to market.

“I personally see this as a very helpful training because it helps us individual farmers find markets to sell our vanilla beans overseas or market our vanilla beans online. After the training, we returned home and shared our thoughts on what we had learnt and we created our own webpage,” said Mamba. “As a girl in the community, I feel that the trainings have really equipped me with the skills to actively participate in Wongs AGTrade [village vanilla business company], helping other members to source a market by creating a webpage.”

These newly found skills and abilities allowed farmers to utilise technology to their benefit by navigating international markets and to find buyers for their produce. Enhanced connectivity and digital skills have increased earnings for the farmers involved and boosted the global vanilla value chain.

This will continue to develop and improve through the training programme, as plans to establish five more resource centres are under way with help from ITU and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

This is an ITU Development #DigitalImpactUnlocked story

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