Society formed to buy food from farmers

A GROUP of farmers in Finschhafen, Morobe, have formed a cooperative society to buy fresh produce from subsistence farmers for the Lae market.
Ruha Marine Agriculture Cooperative (RMAC) chairman Gamara Kaka told The National that the association was formed last October to help villagers who do gardening and fishing to generate their own income.
“We established this cooperative to find good markets for the food produced on our land and harvested in our seas to be sold in Lae,” Kaka said.
“Our main objective is to help rural people generate money to improve their livelihoods. The project will also bring cash flow into the district.
“We have quality products from garden and sea here, however, we do not have access to markets in Lae.”
Kaka said with the establishment of RMAC and the support of provincial government, RMAC established contacts with interested companies to buy their produce.
“We started off as an awareness team on local products and food security in the rural communities when the provincial government, through Governor Ginson Saonu came onboard to fund the project,” Kaka said.
“It (project) is in line with provincial government’s Morobe Kundu Vision 2048, 111 policy (one person should have K1 in every day).”