Association welcomes subsidy by Madang govt

By CLARISSA MOI
THE Farmers and Settlers Association has welcomed the decision by the Madang government to subsidise copra in the province.
President Wilson Thomspon told The National yesterday that it was good to see Governor Peter Yama injecting provincial services improvement programme funds to support the copra farmers in Madang, especially when the industry had been slowly dying.
“We believe it is timely and look forward to more intervention in other parts of Madang including support for copra buyers and traders,” he said.
“The support and price subsidy must benefit all copra farmers in Madang and also to other buyers who had been in Madang in good and bad times too.
“Although we support the interventions, we also call on the Madang government and the Government to give due recognition to persons and entities that are still growing coconut and operating plantations when the industry is on a sharp decline.
“We need to provide a level playing field for all growers, buyers and exporters including those still running plantations in Papua New Guinea.”
Ken Fairweather, Karkar Island’s small-scale copra grower and producer and former Sumkar MP, said the intervention had seen an increase in copra price in Madang by 25 per cent – from K90 per kg to K125 per kg.