Antara News·Indonesia·Saturday, October 31, 2026 at 09:20 AM UTC

Govt readies 3 mln seedlings to turn C Papua's Nabire into cocoa hub

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Ali Ichsan, Uyu Liman

Nabire, Central Papua (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture is preparing three million cocoa seedlings for cultivation in Nabire District, Central Papua, to establish the region as a major cocoa-producing hub within the next three to four years.

Head of the Central Papua Plantation and Livestock Office Rafael Heri Nugroho said here on Friday (October 30) that the assistance is being managed by the ministry’s Directorate General of Plantations and is currently being prepared for distribution.

"The three million cocoa seedlings are currently in the nursery stage. We expect to distribute them to local farmer groups across Nabire by the end of this year," Nugroho said.

The seedlings are being cultivated in phases at a centralized nursery in Samabusa, following shipments from the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (Puslitkoka).

To ensure the program’s success, the Central Papua Provincial Government is coordinating closely with the Nabire District administration to monitor both distribution and the planting process.

Nugroho explained that prospective recipient farmers and planting sites have been proposed by the Nabire District Livestock and Plantation Office.

The proposals were subsequently verified in coordination with the Agricultural Modernization Implementation Agency to ensure that local farmers were adequately prepared.

"We are deeply grateful for and fully supportive of the Ministry of Agriculture’s initiative, and we continue to collaborate closely with the Nabire local government," he said.

Nugroho emphasized that the project aims not only to boost raw cocoa bean yields but also to support downstream processing. Developing value-added products, such as cocoa powder and processed local chocolate, is expected to generate greater economic returns for local communities.

He expressed optimism that the initiative will turn Nabire into a prominent cocoa hub, elevating cocoa alongside coffee as a signature commodity for Central Papua.

Under the broader initiative, the Agriculture Ministry has targeted the development of 3,000 hectares of cocoa plantations in Nabire. This includes the rejuvenation of 1,000 hectares of aging and unproductive crops, as well as the expansion of 2,000 hectares of new farmland.

To support the target, the ministry has prepared 3.6 million seedlings in total — three million allocated for primary planting and another 600,000 seedlings as reserves to replace damaged or failed crops on the ground.

The ministry is also prioritizing local community involvement throughout the project, including the construction and maintenance of nursery facilities, to create local jobs and raise household incomes across the district.

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