Problems and Remedies in Native Copra Production.

Abstract

Of the permanent cash crops established to any extent by the Native peoples of the Territory, coconuts would be the oldest. In the early history of the Territory the coconut was a participant of the subsistence economy only. It was not until the latter part of the 19th Century when the German firm of Godeffry and Sons, with its Headquarters in Samoa, started buying coconuts instead of processed oil, that coconuts became of commercial value to the Natives of New Guinea. This was an incentive for the more enterprising to establish further stands. Plantings have been slow and, in many areas, to-day the small number of mature nuts is alarming. On the other hand where large stands are established they are not being worked to their maximum potential, although the high price which copra is bringing to-day offers a good incentive.