Big To Handle?

Whither The Tolai Cocoa Scheme? [?]s It Getting Too Big To Handle?

r '?rom a Rabaul Correspondent

36 swift progress of the Tolai

0 Project in New Guinea ates that the time is fast

caching when the Papua

> Guinea Administration will to decide on the scheme’s scheme has now been fully oerative for four years since lie Administration introduced it ji attempt to encourage the : natives of the Rabaul district cdw, process and market their cocoa. : scheme has outstripped the r;t hopes of its originators. =gral factors have been re ible for this phenomenal :h. One was the lucky choice irop which has achieved gener ouoyant prices since the time cheme started. •ther was the fact that the people have a basic interest riculture, rather than in sea ;, animal husbandry or crafts :iip. [bird factor lies in the inde mce of the Tolai, who likes his ;and holding, home and village. 1 unfortunate fact has to be now, however, that the agri ral and economic success of the ie has raced ahead of the •ercial and business ability of f'olai himself to manage it.

Supervision Problems

'eminent supervision is becom iore and more impracticable as ffieme goes ahead because it is :ng the realm of big business.

Government is neither geared aerate commercial enterprise, iior does it want to operate it. ; Department of Native Affairs Ihe Department of Agriculture i done outstanding work in set up the scheme and putting it feet. Conceivably they could pected to claim that they have their part, and could now [raw. . there is a lack of executive among the natives, which is »asis of today’s problem, 'eminent officers connected the scheme have already given iroblem much thought, present a Government account- Mrs. T. Smith, of Rabaul, at to the finances of the scheme.

The scheme pays her salary, but there is no payment for the overall managerial supervision which Gov ernment officers give to the scheme —and this often runs into many hours of work.

As the scheme expands, the man agerial supervision necessary will become greater.

An obvious first step, then, to make the scheme tidy within itself would be to raise charges against it equivalent to the time spent on its affairs by Government officers.

This would provide a more realistic indication of the finances of the scheme.

Its Growth

Later, consideration will have to be given to cutting the scheme free from direct Government control but employing a trained European executive staff to carry on. To work out the final details of such a plan will be no easy task, but it appears to be the only logical solution.

Some idea of how the scheme has

grown can be gained from the fol lowing figures which were released in the middle of March when the scheme passed its fourth full year of operation: Total sales of dry cocoa beans for the 12 months of the fourth year amounted to 1,000 tons, which was nearly 300 tons greater than sales made in the previous year, and which would carry an approximate value of £A270,000.

The scheme is opeating 17 fer mentaries and plans to build two more in the next 18 months, by which time it is believed 1,000,000 cocoa trees under cultivation by members will be in bearing.

Total borrowings by the scheme have been authorised to more than £220,000, by way of bank advances from the Bank of New South Wales secured by the Papua-New Guinea Administration, The redemption rate on the loan is £25 per ton of cocoa, and more than £50,000 has already been re paid.