Province eyes agro studies

 THE East New Britain executive council will set up a committee to coordinate agriculture feasibility studies.

Since 2005, when cocoa, one of its main cash crops, began 

to suffer from the incursion of 

the cocoa pod borer pest, the 

province began to identify other 

agriculture crops which are in abundance and venture into downstream processing.

Chairman for agriculture John Sambie said the projects advisory committee would receive government support to carry out feasibility studies on the viability and economics of crops which come under the project.

Projects proposed to be covered under this study are cassava, cocoa, coconut, galip nut, cashew nut, peanuts, kava, poultry, taro and noni.

Sambie said since cocoa production dropped, the earning power of people in East New Britain decreased.

“The studies will provide the way forward in adding value to the agriculture project to increase farmers’ earnings and growing the local economy,” he said.

However some institutions in the province have already ventured into downstream processing of cocoa and coconut. 

They are:

• OISCA International with cocoa butter, cocoa powder and cocoa chocolate;
• Lote Kamlang – East Pomio LLG with cocoa powder;
• CCIPNG with cocoa butter and chocolate;
• Pacific Spice with coconut virgin oil;
• NARI with galip nuts, cashew nuts and kava.

“We believe that if the provincial government can assist these organisations to expand and improve facilities, the province can organise in a bigger way to add value to other crops through downstream processing.”