Smallholders urged to increase yields

THE general manager of the New Britain Palm Oil Limited’s Poliamba’s estate, Bujang Tabau Frankie, has urged smallholders to increase their yields from the current eight tonnes per hectare.
“The oil palm grower total hectare planted is 2,800 hectares. Out of that, only 36 per cent is harvested,” Frankie said.
“We will have to improve this, improve the yield so that every palm planted must be harvested and well maintained.”
He said the mill at Poliamba was a 20-tonne mill.
“The mill needs the fruit. So the oil palm planted must be harvested,” he said.
“The future of the growers is very bright, but you need to take care of your own land and palms.”
He received a K324,000 cheque from Oil Palm Minister Francis Maneke for seedlings, under the oil palm intervention programme at Panamana, outside Kavieng, New Ireland on, Thursday.
Oil Palm Industry Corporation (Opic) general secretary Kepson Pupita said under the Opic Act 1992, Opic was just an extension service provider.
He said the Opic Act would be reviewed.
He urged the smallholder growers to work hard and harvest every week.
“In Hoskins and Bialla, people are now doing eight, nine and 10 tonnes with no fertiliser,” he said.
“With a block that is cleaned, the result is now 32 to 40 tonnes. No fertiliser. Best management is to clean the block.”