Like all the books in this series the main purpose is to let young people know how they can make some money by starting a business that is well within their capability. They are written to be easily understood, provide honest advice and encourage enthusiasm.
Vanilla Farming was written in 2005 when the vanilla price was at its lowest for a long time. Peter Donigi and I were writing it then because a year or so previously the price had been sky high. This is the case with many agricultural products and this book explains reasons for this very carefully in a chapter on risk management. It can be the same for coffee, cocoa and many other farm products to a greater or lesser degree.
It was Peter who provided all the knowledge about how to grow vanilla. He grows vanilla in East Sepik.
This book also explains the biology of the vanilla plant and the different species that are grown in PNG.
It can be grown in many places in the highlands and lowlands but does need good rainfall over about 10 months of the year.
Curing vanilla pods takes great skill and care. It is very well explained in this book and there is no reason why anyone should not be able to produce export quality vanilla pods to sell for a very good price.
Author: Brian Robertson and Peter Donigi
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