K43 million vanilla project set

SOUTH Fly MP Sekie Agisa claims top-grade vanilla beans from Papua New Guinea are sold by Indonesia on the international market at a high price.
Agisa said he had been following the “illegal trading of vanilla beans between PNG vanilla farmers and Indonesians at Wutung in West Sepik on the PNG-Indonesia border”.
“I followed the vanilla trail all the way to the warehouse in Jakarta. I saw PNG-grown vanilla branded as Indonesia vanilla,” he said.
He, therefore, urged vanilla farmers to make use of the vanilla-processing plant in Samago.
“It will be here (where) your locally grown vanilla beans will be processed into top grade vanilla oil which will fetch a good price on the international market,” he said.
“On top of that, it will be branded PNG vanilla. So make use of the opportunity that has arrived at your door-step.”
Agisa, the Livestock Minister, was speaking during the Kiunga agro-industrial centre and Fly vanilla project launch on June 30.
The K42.9 million project is expected to provide economic development opportunities to the people of Western, especially those impacted by Ok Tedi Mining operations. North Fly MP James Donald was excited about the benefits his people would enjoy after the Ok Tedi Mine closes.
“We have 10 more years to go before the mine closes,” Donald said.
“Let us help ourselves and prepare.”
Innovative Agro Industry chairman Ilan Weiss said the internal rate of return was 25 per cent.
“The project includes nursery demonstration blocks, 14 greenhouses in an area of two hectares all equipped with precision fertigation of about 17 thousand vines growing on site,” he said.
“The project includes controlled curing facility to process quality vanilla and we’ll engage locals some of whom we’ve engaged in Nomad, Strickland river, Kiunga-Tabubil Highway villages, lower Ok Tedi, Olsobip and Oksapmin.