“I have completed the construction of one permanent family house and am now commencing the construction of our family’s second permanent house” said Paul who used to farm only a small area with lettuce and capsicum despite owning over a hectare of arable land.

Born and eventually married in Ramba Road Village in Hagen Central District in Western Highlands Province, they were classified as part of Papua New Guineas low income households according to a household survey conducted on MVFS participants in 2021, where the primary source of income was subsistence agriculture through shifting cultivation. 

Paul and hes wife Bepi owned a large arable farmland over an hectare in size, however they farmed only 500 meters squared farm area to supply Paks Supplies Limited, a local fresh produce aggregator and distributor. Paul supplied lettuce to Paks Supplies on a weekly basis but the supply order volume was low and the income made was insufficient to meet all of hes needs and achieve hes farming goals of an extended farm, increased production and income. He longed for a permanent house for hes family. 

Having lived with a feeling of unfulfillment in his farming and household visions, Paul was lucky to be inducted into the Market for Village Farmers Project (MVF) when the local aggregator to whom Paul supplied lettuce to partnered with the MVF Project in 2021. 

Through the project Paul was able to access the Lead Farmer Seed Capital Grants (LFSCG) valued at K11,223 and was able to assist 4 more farmers from he's village by connecting them to the project through the Lead Farmer to Contact Farmer support system, enabling them to each receive contact farmer grants. 

The program was designed in a way where farmers would contribute 30% of the cost of any agronomic input for their fresh produce crop and the project would pay 70% of this cost. Through the project Paul received a special covid 19 Rural Poor Stimulus Fund Seed Capital Grant valued at K540 fully funded by the project together with the LFSCG grant. With this assistance, Paul increased hes production from farming 500 square meters of land to farming almost half a hectare of land with lettuce and cucumber and increasing hes crop variety to include pakchoi, sweet corn and capsicum, diversifying he's fresh produce marketing. 

With technical trainings and support from the projects program on financial literacy, nutrition and food processing and agriculture trainings, Paul was able to utilize the knowledge and apply it to hes farming. 

Paul bought timber and completed his first family home in 2024, realizing hes first big dream. 

Today, Paul helps train other farmers on the technical knowledge of fresh produce farming and monitors the production of hes four farmers to ensure the produce is ready on time for supply to Paks. He encourages youths to take up farming as a means to improving their lives. 

“With such support, our lives are much better, our children and grandchildren can go to school and I am able to complete one family house and begin the construction of another. I hope other members of my community can see me as a role model and see the power of farming and how it can improve their lives”