A Digital Backbone For PNG’s Cocoa Industry: Cocoa Management Information System Goes Live To Power Value Chain Growth

19 August, 2025 

Supported by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme, the Cocoa Management Information System (CMIS) of the Cocoa Board of Papua New Guinea (CBPNG) was launched in Kokopo. The sector-wide platform has been designed to digitize data and record-keeping across the cocoa value chain so that informed decision-making, improved planning, stronger coordination and accurate tracking of export volumes from different ports nationwide can be enabled.

Developed in close collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the CMIS was officially handed over to CBPNG at the launch. As a one-stop, real-time hub, the system has been configured to consolidate and analyse key sector information, including farmer profiles, seedling distribution, training data, production yields, processing assessments, nursery status and export volumes, so that reporting to government and stakeholders can be streamlined and service delivery across the sector strengthened.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, the Project Officer for ITU-STREIT, Mr Kanagat Alyshbaev, said: “As part of the EU-STREIT PNG Programme, ITU has helped deliver CMIS which automates data collection, provides live dashboards, and strengthens planning and reporting so that support reaches farmers and the whole value chain moves faster.” Adding “CMIS is practical for people in the field as well as policymakers, cutting duplication and errors. Over time, it will lift quality, traceability and incomes across Papua New Guinea’s cocoa sector.”

Expressing gratitude, the Chief Executive Officer of the Cocoa Board, Mr Jesse Anjen, said, “We’re very grateful to the ITU under EU-STREIT PNG to come on board to help with this CMIS system. A lot of our work is done manually and as a government organisation we’re required to report and this system will help us also to monitor data, including volume export from different ports, and generate very customised report to government and to stakeholders. It will be really useful to the industry and the country and the government as well.”

Also present was Deputy Secretary for DICT, Mr Russell Woruba, who praised the partnership with EU-STREIT PNG. “We are very committed to supporting CMIS and we are working very closely with EU-STREIT PNG to see the fruition of this system. This is a very momentous occasion for us and the industry. What we are doing is supporting government in developing the agriculture sector starting with ICT innovation and to see the Cocoa Board come to this stage is very fulfilling. With this system we can get the insights, and I commend the leadership and collaboration by all stakeholders with EU-STREIT PNG.”

The CMIS is intended to deliver four core results for the cocoa industry: automated aggregation of industry data; a robust information and knowledge-sharing hub; a tool for institutional strengthening and management; and a comprehensive information layer to support planning, monitoring and performance control.

As these features roll out, CMIS helps agencies plan and coordinate better. Farmers receive trusted advice on pests and diseases, which lifts product quality and improves crop and farm management. More quality planting material reaches farms. Cocoa Agribusinesses meet market requirements and international standards more easily, and good agricultural practices spread across the value chain. Together, these changes raise incomes, strengthen food security and improve livelihoods, while deepening links with suppliers and buyers in Papua New Guinea and overseas.

To support these outcomes, the platform brings together production data, farmer and fermentary profiles (with sales records), market and export information (including prices), nursery and budwood records, stakeholder and input-supplier lists, and exporter client profiles. These are linked across CMIS databases and producer and farmer registries, and selected information will be available through a public portal.

To ensure high-quality, timely data flows into the CMIS, training on Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) has been conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme for 15 Cocoa Board officers based in East Sepik. By using 15 tablets provided by ITU, or their own smartphones, field officers are now able to collect and validate data in real time and enter them into the CMIS, so that errors can be reduced, verification carried out immediately and decision-ready information provided for analysis. Through this end-to-end digital pipeline, from field capture to sector dashboards, a major step forward in modernising Papua New Guinea’s cocoa industry has been marked.

A Flagship under the EU’s Global Gateway:

EU-STREIT PNG contributes to the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy by driving rural transformation through digital transformation. As the first articulation of the Strategy in Papua New Guinea, the Programme expanding digital capabilities and tools for real-time agrifood systems planning, monitoring, and decision-making. These efficient and effective solutions help to boost productivity, and strengthen food security and incomes, delivering tangible impact in line with the EU’s global development vision.

About the EU-STREIT PNG Programme:

The EU-STREIT PNG Programme, is the European Union's largest grant-funded initiative in the country being implemented as a United Nations Joint Programme by FAO, ILO, ITU, UNCDF and UNDP. It focuses on boosting sustainable and inclusive economic development in rural areas. This is achieved by FAO’s support in enhancing economic returns and opportunities within cocoa, vanilla, and fisheries value chains. Additionally, the Programme strengthens and improves the efficiency of value chain enablers, including access to Information & Communication Technology (ICT) by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and digital financial services by UNCDF. ILO also supports the development of sustainable, climate-resilient roads and other transport infrastructures while UNDP provides renewable energy solutions. The Programme directly benefits two provinces: East Sepik and West Sepik.

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