Agarobe plans ‘one crop per district’ to drive province

Agricultural production in each of the four districts in Central will be increased to drive the economy, Governor Robert Agarobe says.
Agarobe made the statement during a ground breaking ceremony at Inawi village in Kairuku to launch the Oio Anifagi Resource Development on Saturday.
“We have this one product per district concept and have identified which crop is suitable in each district for production,” he said.
“We find that Kairuku will focus on rice production, Abau is cocoa, Rigo is livestock and Goilala is coffee.
“We go with the product that is already being developed in that district and continue with it on a large scale.
“For example in Kairuku, you are already planting rice and you know the basic techniques so we will stick to rice and develop it into large scale production.
“It is the same in the other districts. When you concentrate on one crop per district, then we move away from subsistence agriculture life style.”
Agarobe said as part of that agriculture concept, they had set up the Aniani Corporation six months ago.
“That company goes throughout the province to buy food from farmers in remote areas.”
He said the Aniani programme would enable farmers in rural areas such as Cloudy Bay local level government in Abau, who do not usually come to the markets in Port Moresby, to sell their produce to the company.
“We will go out to them and buy their food at the price they usually fetch at the markets in Port Moresby.
“We buy your food and we will re-sell it in Port Moresby.”