Ilimo Dairy Farm production date set for January

THE K128 million (US$41 million) Ilimo Dairy Farm project initiated by the Innovative Agro Industry group in Central is expected to start producing by January next year.
Chairman and executive director Ilan Weiss said that Papua New Guinea had the right environment for business and the dairy farm would go a long way in bringing benefits to the people.
“It’s a business. You look for the right partners in every place and everybody needs to put ‘a skin’ in the game otherwise it doesn’t work,” he said.
“For every dollar that we put in, you put in one dollar, so we need you to put ‘skin’ in the game.
“I will never go to a project in Papua New Guinea unless I have a Papua New Guinean partner with me, both of us must have an interest in the business.”
Weiss said the cows were brought in from New Zealand.
There a about 700 cows at the Ilimo farm – 500 adults and 200 calves.
“The farm has four components – cows, growing the feed for the cows, dairy products and the processing factory,” he said.
“The biggest challenges for us have been the electricity and water which are important for our daily business operation. We have managed to build the project and we hope it would be completed by January with the production of the first dairy products.”
Weiss said the project is an equity share initiative between the Innovative Agro Industry 50 per cent, Central government 30 per cent and the National Government 30 per cent.