Chamber supports rice farming

 The Western Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Industry says the concept of large scale farming of rice, grains and cereals has the potential to create thousands of jobs in the province.

Chamber president James Leahy said key to coping with an urban land and job shortage was for the Government to focus its resources and financing on rural based agronomics.

“There are currently two established rice projects in the Baiyer and Nebilyer valley that have proven potential to provide 100 per cent PNG grown rice,” Leahy said.

“The one in the Baiyer has out reached to over 3000 farmers already.

“All the Government needs to do is look within, look at these projects and provide funding for these established projects to simply grow and flourish.

“They have proven they are viable; they have the potential to provide many new jobs, so our Government and members need to support them.

“If the Government would simply come out and meet the true farmers in the WHP and stop entertaining the paper farmers in Waigani they would understand the true potential of PNG’s agricultural industry.

Leahy said global food demand was increasing because of population growth and that was an opportunity for PNG to take advantage of the market through agricultural exports.

“Countries are restricting export of their agricultural commodities as internal consumption rises,” he said.

“PNG can take advantage of this gap and fill it with some of the finest agricultural foods if the markets where linked to the farmer.

“The Government needs to do its homework and work on a country to country agreement to relax trade and food bio restrictions so PNG can increase exports.

“The money will then come back to the farmers, who will then want to remain on the land, increase their farm sizes and create more jobs which in turn may encourage a rural drift, taking the strain off the towns.”