Church helps farmers find markets

MOST rural farmers miss out on economic benefits due to their remoteness, a Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) pastor says.
Northern and Milne Bay mission Ps Robert Nana said the country’s rural areas had fertile land but access to markets was the main reason farmers were left out.
“These people miss out on a lot of economic gains because of their remoteness so the church is trying to play its part in helping them be economically viable,” he said.
Nana, who visited The National yesterday with farmers from the Fergusson Island in Milne Bay, said the Adventist Care (AdCare) Foundation, initiated by the Northern and Milne Bay mission and launched this year, was to promote agriculture.
He said they had a three-year plan – the first phase was to engage the Spice Board in training local farmers about vanilla farming in the long term; and, the second was to promote cash crop farming for yams, cabbages, English potatoes and a range of other crops to sustain the farmers in the short term.
Nana said they travelled to Port Moresby with samples of their harvest to look for partners and establish markets.
“We are going public so business houses who intend to help, the church is willing to create this opportunity for rural people.”