Cash from veggies

Business, Normal
Source:

The National, Tuesday June 18th, 2013

 AN assured market for fresh vegetable harvests has started stuffing cash into the pockets of some enterprising village women in the Wafi-Golpu project area in Morobe.

The Wafi-Golpu community affairs (CA), through its Women Development Programme (WDP) team, has arranged a vegetable growing-and-selling project between the women and the National Catering Services (NCS).

Now, with the NCS mess buying in bulk, each of the Wafi women has started to earn at least K130 a day. 

The venture began last April.

The vegetable growers have been encouraged to improve their produce to meet the quality standards set by NCS on vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, carrots and potatoes.

They were told that the mess would like to buy on regular basis cabbages, broccolis, carrots, potatoes and spices, which are not produced in the area.

NCS said it will buy from the veggie growers every Tuesday and Thursday.

To kick-start the project, CA WDP helped the women to set up nurseries and provided them with seedlings.

 The team also taught the women on vegetable-growing and supplying fresh produce to NCS to make sure they make profits.