His Samoan Coffee Coes
p. 43 · Read in the full issue
To Australia
From a Special Correspondent in Apia West Samoa ‘if it is to develop the coffee trade and take advantage of the Australian and New Zealand markets,” should have at Apia a! central treatment plant to process the berries brought in by Samoan growers.
THAT is the opinion of veteran ovmo n crrnwpr Mr F M Jn fm' 30 vears has Jahnke, who tor ju yeais been growing coffee on his 46-acre holding at Fasitoo'uta, near Apia, Originally Mr. Jahnke came out as botanical specialist in the Trerman days, but now he exports his dried coffee beans to Australia ior prices which bring up to £5OO a ton.
He employs 40 to 100 men, accoraing to the crop and the uncertain labour force available.
He considers that New Zealand offers a good market but that “Australia offers the best price”.
Pnffpp has been grown in Samoa for 60 vears But in the early days it was blfghted by a disease known as Himalayan fungus and big areas were mined Thlt made growers shv of coffee for a long time. shy of coffee for a io g So cocoa became the lt promised to be a g
“ckneJs. A cancerous
growth on the trees ate out whole plantations in 12 months.
This brought Mr. Jahnke to Samoa j hicmcpc pxnprt from P St^ tI ? 9^ e h r f Parted as a planter on s own acccnl nt.
Samoan coffee, says Mr. Jahnke, ig a « ver y good quality.” g u t the maintenance of a good aV erage quality is highly dependent on ski p a nd preparation for the market He says coffee can easily be grown big quantities in Samoa and the Department of Agriculture could assist it by setting up an advisory service meanwhile to instruct tne Samoans in the proper way of pre paring coffee for the market, The Western Samoa Trust Estates Corporation produced its first ton of coffee experimentally last year, expects to have 375 acres planted coffee by the end of March, and programme calls for extensive plantings over the next ten years.