Corporation committed to building roads for farmers

THE Oil Palm Industry Corporation (Opic) is committed to building roads for smallholder farmers in the country, acting general secretary Kepson Pupita says.
He said this during a tour of smallholder roads in the Kae area of Talasea, West New Britain, on Sunday.
Pupita said Opic would build a road and culvert that would cost about K1 million.
The culvert will enable access to about 50 hectares of smallholder blocks.
He said the 4km road including the diverting of a small river would make a big difference for farmers by enabling them to transport their oil palm to the main pick-up point.
Pupita commended the contractor for the work it had done so far on a swampy land.
He added that the project would cost more than K800,000.
He said with good road, the 20 blocks comprising of around 50 hectares would yield an average of K423,000 annually for the farmers.