Citrus bearing fruit for Gereva

By JACKLYN SIRIAS
THE villagers of Gereva in Rigo district, Central, are doing citrus farming to earn a living.
The village, a three-hour drive from Port Moresby, has a population of more than 5000 people and is located near the Owen Stanley Range.
While rural farmers in other parts of the country rely on cash crops such as coffee, cocoa, copra and rubber to earn a living, Gevera villagers rely on pineapples and peanuts. They also plant food crops such as taro, kaukau, banana, yams and fruits for consumption.
About four years ago, Daniel Kombuk, a fruit scientist from the Department of Agriculture and Livestock, introduced citrus farming.
“I introduced this as a pilot project to see if citrus fruits, especially lemon and oranges, can grow in coastal areas,” he said.
Kombuk said they imported certified hybrid species of citrus fruits from California, in the United States, and Israel and started a nursery in Jiwaka.
It was where Gevera villager Varina Sigeo learned about citrus farming and decided to try it out at his village in 2013.
Sigeo bought about K3000 worth of citrus seedlings and cuttings from the nursery in Jiwaka after attending a one-week course organised by the Agriculture department.
He now has 153 orange trees.
“I did not use any manufactured fertilisers as I only relied on natural fertilisers,” he said.
Last year, he harvested around 40 to 50 fruits per tree and sold them at Gordon and Malauro markets in Port Moresby. He earned around K500.
He is now awaiting the third harvest this year as the oranges are about to mature.
“My biggest challenge is the lack of proper road access and transport, avenues to market the produce and the shortage of water during the dry season for irrigation purposes,” Sigeo said.
He said the villagers noted what he was doing and decided to try their hand in citrusfarming.
Today, more than 15 farmers have joined and are now calling on the Central government and MPs to assist them by build a proper road to the village.
They are also seeking help with irrigation.
Farmer Raphael Kokina said it was something new to them.
“This is a new project to us so we need coordination as well as training on how to go about looking after the trees so they could bear plenty of fruits for us to earn money,” he said.
“Therefore we would like our MP to assist in any way he can to help us sustain our lives.”
Kombuk said the hybrid orange trees could grow up to four metres tall. But it is easier to prune the trees when they are three metres high.
Kombuk urged the villagers to be involved in the project because the soil was good for citrus farming.