SOURCE: Nelson Joe, Post Courier
The Kainantu district development authority in Eastern Highlands province has embarked on commercializing avocado going forward.
Eastern Highlands Governor Simon Sia has joined the local MP William Hagahuno and his DDA members, chief of Executive officer Viencent Agusave and the project coordinator Livingston Fontenu and others, to launch the avocado project on Friday.
Many people have shown interest in the project as they registered their names to get 11,000 seedlings brought to the government station by around 10 farmers from the Agarabi and Kamano 1 local level government areas at the launching, with 19,000 seedlings held back at the nursery sites to distribute to the local communities.
Mr. Hagahuno said the Kainantu DDA is looking at distributing 200,000 avocado seedlings annually so that in the next five years, they will have distributed 1 million avocado seedlings.
Mr. Hagahuno highlighted that the avocado trees grow on their own and harvesting of the fruits does not involve a lot of effort, yet they are of high economic value due to it being a healthy source of protein and other nutritional values and health benefits.
Mr. Hagahuno said the avocado seedlings they plant today will be their next crop to depend on when the season is over, adding that Kainantu is the first district to embark on commercializing avocados in the country.
He said the project is one of DDA’s many programs to create enabling environment for personal economic empowerment and urged the people to come onboard this project.
Mr. Sia said the value of avocados is not recognized in PNG.
“People in overseas countries rush for avocados,” Mr. Sia said.
He committed and K100,000 on behalf of the provincial government to the Kainantu DDA to be shared equally for avocado and coffee seedling projects.
This is the initial support from the provincial government and we want to see this project grow.