Heyupe Quazangue is a farmer from Teptep village in Rai Coast district of Madang province who loves farming crops and raising livestock. He grows coffee, wheat, rice, grapes, and keeps broiler chicken and pigs. He sells what he can in his community. Coffee is sold to buyers who use the North Coast Aviation airline to sell to major buyers in Goroka, Eastern Highlands.
Mr Quazangue is content with the little he sells to support his family. There are no roads linking Teptep and finding markets to sell fresh produce and livestock remains a challenge for farmers. He is thankful that a farmer like Anno Darkop is helpful in conducting farmer training and leading other agricultural activities.
Mr Quazangue was trained by Mr Darkop through the European Union supported project NARI is managing, which aims to strengthen and build the resilience capacity of vulnerable communities during drought.
Teptep was hard hit during the 2015/16 drought affecting food gardens, but through the project, Mr Quazangue is finding new ways to tackle these problems. Mr. Quazangue with the support of his wife Gelem learnt how to make pig silage and bulk planting materials to help Mr Darkop distribute to other members in the community.
Through their efforts, other farmers in the area are now growing drought tolerant crops and varieties, and have learned how to process and store staple root crops, make feed and raise livestock.
Farmers in the area are thankful to NARI and the European Union for their support which will enable them to not only prepare for any future drought but also help improve their livelihoods.
