Galip: A crop of growing interest

With the help and research by the National Agriculture Research Institute, galip has attracted many people’s attention. With new products in line, farmers are taking a keen interest and that should be encouraging, writes research officer MATTHEW POIENOU

THE National Agricultural Research Institute (Nari) takes special pride in showcasing farming technologies it has developed through its agricultural research programmes.
Apart from its own Agricultural Innovation Show and the Morobe Agriculture Show, last year’s World Food Day celebrations were also embraced to feature different Nari technologies which have potentials to enhance smallholder practices, output levels and food security.
One of innovations which received much response and interest was galip.
Galip is an indigenous nut has been commercialised recently with the launching of new product lines.
This was the fruit of over 18 years of research and trials by the Institute’s Islands Research Centre at Keravat, in East New Britain.
Respective research centres’ staff put up stalls with posters and other informative displays that attracted a lot of visitors.
Kerevat team’s experience during World Food Day event in Gazelle, East New Britain, was quite remarkable.
Over 300 people visited Nari exhibition booth to source a range of basic information about their socio- economic potentials of different crop and farming practices.
Galip products and by-products were most sought after out of other fruits and nuts that were featured.
Farmers were explained to about efforts to develop the crop over the years have resulted in three new commercial, galip brands being launched last year.
These product lines include ‘Natural Galip Nut’, ‘Roasted Galip Nut’ and ‘Peeled Galip Nut’.

The first product contains dried kernels packaged in 100g and 1kg sachets. The second features 60g and 100g sachets of dried kernels seasoned with salt and sugar.
The third product offers peeled, dried kernels in 60g and 100g sachets.
All products could be used as snacks as well as cooking ingredients.
By-products of the nut include galip oil and the grounded galip cakes.
There was also awareness about potential threats posed by galip weevil and what Nari is doing to address it.
Weevil attacks have mainly been associated with seedlings brought from Bougainville.
This is not experienced with seedlings sourced within East New Britain and other provinces.
Nari has been working on potential control measures.
It needs funding support to develop these methods.
Properly managing the galip weevil impacts will help to boost farmers’ confidence and the expansion of galip production base.
Currently, Nari only distributes seedlings to farmers in galip growing areas that are free from galip weevil attack.
Most of the visitors were interested to know more about market opportunities for galip.
Market is an essential aspect of the value chain.
It provides galip farmers the opportunity to realise socio-economic benefits through the sale of their produces.
This is already existent on a small scale in the form of informal sale of nuts or kernels wrapped in small banana leaf called karamaps.
Recently, the crop’s commercial market value was boosted with the establishment of a Nari galip factory in East New Britain.
This enhanced the value chain for galip, allowing growers access to better socio-economic benefits.
Mature galip nuts are often bought from the farmers.
The quality of extracted kernels is maintained under controlled conditions and then processed into different product lines which are supplied to selected retailers like Andersons Foodland and City Pharmacy Ltd, in the domestic market.
For now, these markets are only supplied by our factory until private businesses develop the capacity to compete and diversify the range of galip brands, the quality as well as the supply and the price.
These developments may ultimately drive opportunities for galip products to be sold on the export market within the Pacific and beyond.
PNG has the potential to develop a competitive edge in producing and supplying premium galip products.
But in order to realise that potential, we must first address main limiting factors.
First and foremost is that galip is a seasonal crop and there is much variability the capacity to harvest, store and process sufficient volumes of kernel to maintain a consistent level of production to supply market.
One way to do that is to expand galip production bases around the country in addition to the present focus in East New Britain.
In addition, new propagation methods like rooting of cuttings would generate clonal galip trees with the capacity to provide continuous yield of quality raw nuts, annually.
These approaches would help boost our capacity to produce enough volumes to supply both the domestic and export markets.
There is a great deal of interest among aspiring farmers from new areas like to venture into galip farming.
These areas include the Baining in East New Britain, Tinputz and Buin districts of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and parts of West New Britain, New Ireland and Madang.
Farmers really appreciated the opportunity to learn about the potential of galip and said there was need for more exhibitions and awareness about galip main galip growing areas around the country.
We should take heed of that encouraging farmer responses and do more to promote the profile of galip as an emerging cash crop, for the future.

• Mathew Poienou is a research information officer based at Nari’s Islands Regional Centre at Kerevat, East New Britain.