Minister reassures farmers

 FARMERS have been reassured the Government’s latest agriculture developments include small-holder farms.
Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Tommy Tomscoll said the K28 million agriculture project at 9-Mile, outside Port Moresby, and a similar agro-industrial one earmarked for Markham, Morobe, were not stand-alone projects.
“These projects are all inclusive, especially for farmers outside Port Moresby,” he said.
Tomscoll said it would include the training of farmers to sell quality produce. They will be contracted by agro-industrial centres, which will then distribute their produce.
“With new farming technology, fruits and vegetables can last up to three weeks,” he said.
“Now they only last three days to a week.
Now you tell me what the retailer will buy.
“Farming is a very expensive exercise so we must make the cost of production cheaper and profits greater and this is the way to go about it,” he said.
He said small-holder farmers did not know about consumer tastes and these were things that limited the market.
“Under a controlled climate, we will be able to compete in the Asian market.
“But for now we must build up our own market first,” Tomscoll said.