Poultry project for Sepik Plains

The National National
Source:
The National, Monday July 18th, 2016

 Reports by HELEN TARAWA 
Kumul Consolidated Holdings and Innovative Agro Industry Limited signed a joint venture agreement to develop a K55 million Sepik Plains agriculture project.
Innovative Agro Industry chief executive officer Lior Crystal said the Sepik Plains project would be producing chicken and eggs.
“It will be a self-sustainable project, first of its kind in PNG in producing its stockfeed and distributing to the local community,” he said.
“In addition to that we are going to do a cocoa plantation which will be irrigated with new state-of-the-art technology and cocoa processing centre.”
Kumul chairman Paul Nerau said PNG needed a lot of agriculture projects because that was where the bulk of the population was engaged.
He said this was a sustainable project that realised the shortcomings of extractive industries.
He described it as a timely joint venture for Kumul Consolidated Holdings to look at for sustainable long term earnings for the country.
“There is also a significant export potential for these products and this goes with cocoa and all other crops in this project,” Nerau said.
“We will provide much-needed feed for the country because any project, whether its poultry or piggery, you need stockfeed and this project has a potential for that.
“Our partners, because of their expertise, there will be new technology in the way of doing things.
“These are major things that will help generate greater value for our crops.
“It is a project that we are looking forward to, to achieving those expectations.
“It also benefits an undeveloped part of Papua New Guinea, the Sepik Plains, and that would be a major multiplier effect for spin-off businesses which will create hundreds and thousands of jobs that our country needs right now.”
KCH general manager investments Lutz Heim said the investment was in the order of K55 million, of which KCH would contribute three quarters and IAI one quarter.
“That’s one of the attractive features for KCH – that IAI is committing capital and not merely working on the management basis – a win win situation.”