Coffee recovery finally brewing in Vanuatu after cyclone

A young boy looks on after clearing vegetation in his village on the remote south-west coast of Tanna Island , Vanuatu, in 2015. Photo / AAP file

By Lisa Martin

When one of the worst Pacific cyclones on record smashed into Vanuatu's Tanna Island it robbed local coffee farmers of 750,000 trees.

Two years on from Cyclone Pam, a recovery is brewing.

Local company Tanna Coffee has secured a A$656,000 investment as a result of a partnership between social enterprise organisation The Difference Incubator and Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The money will be used to plant 200 hectares of coffee trees during the next 18 months.

The land will be divided into in one-hectare plots for 200 farming families.

Tanna Coffee's managing director Terry Adlington said he knew the cyclone recovery process would be long and arduous.

"This year we'll get back to 25 tonne which is a quarter of where we were (before the cyclone,)" he told AAP.

The investment aims to increase annual coffee production from 20 tonnes to 100 tonnes.

Adlington said it would be a game changer for struggling families, some of whom are still living under tarps because the leaves they used to make traditional houses are still growing back.

Incomes are expected to increase by 20 per cent.

When Adlington arrived in Vanuatu farmers were paid about 25 cents for each kilogram of coffee cherries. Changing processes and value adding mean they now get A$3.20 a kilogram.

Tanna Coffee grows, processes, roasts, and distributes premium single-origin coffee across Vanuatu and the Pacific region.

The Difference Incubator spokeswoman Anthea Smits said younger trees survived the cyclone while older plants were lost. "So we are rehabilitating and developing crops at different stages to ensure a regular supply," she said.

There are hopes boosting Vanuatu's private sector will help reduce the country's reliance on aid and build its resilience to natural disasters. Vanuatu receives A$41.9 million from Australia's foreign aid programme.

- AAP