Innovation vital in planning, official says

INNOVATION is a vital component in developing strategies around infrastructural setbacks in the agricultural sector, according to chairman of Innovative Agro Industry Ilan Weiss.
Weiss spoke on “Opportunities in Sustainable Agribusiness in PNG” during the inaugural national agriculture summit in Port Moresby yesterday.
He illustrated his points on innovation through the option of processing vegetables in the Highlands to deal with the logistical challenges in getting produce to markets.
“We confronted a problem in the Highlands,” he said.
In PNG people grow potatoes in Western Highlands, Southern Highlands, Enga but for some reason those potatoes are not reaching the lucrative markets and one of the ways to overcome the logistical challenge is to actually process those potatoes and vegetables,” Weiss said.
“PNG is real big importer of frozen French fries and a lot of people like to eat it so by processing the potatoes and making frozen French fries in the Highlands we are able to deal with the logistical gap because even if the highway is closed or if it takes longer to the markets, we can preserve the quality and the nutritional value of our products.
“French fries is one way and also for other frozen vegetables as well. This is one of the ways to meet the logistical gap as we are not going to get a four lane highway in the foreseeable future so developing innovations with help from the government is what is needed to meet these challenges.”