Central Province Governor Rufina Peter has signalled her intention to revive the Ilimo Farm outside Port Moresby, once a major supplier of chicken meat and eggs to the capital.
Governor Peter met with Minister for International Trade and Investment Richard Maru to discuss ways to restart operations at the farm, which is owned by the Central Province Development Corp., the provincial government’s business arm.
Peter said she wants to see the farm supply chicken meat, eggs and day-old chicks to Port Moresby and the wider Southern Region. The two leaders also discussed developing a cattle industry in Central Province to provide up to 10,000 head of cattle for Hugo Canning.
“The Ilimo Farm is a prime property, and it needs to be revived immediately. My Ministry and Department will fully support this project because we cannot continue to import K200 million worth of chickens annually,” Maru said. “The Marape-Rosso Government is keen to replace all chicken imports and be a net exporter of chicken.”
Also present at the meeting were PNG Poultry Industry Association chairman Chis Prestwood and Hugo Canning general manager Jeremy Fry, who both described the initiative as timely.
“These are industries that are ready to pop,” Fry said.
Maru said he now awaits a joint investment proposal to be submitted to his office to progress what he described as projects of national significance.
“For cattle, unless we produce local beef to supply Hugo Canning, we cannot reduce the price of ox and palm which has now increased by nearly 100 percent compared to previous years because of the expensive imports from Australia and the declining Kina value,” he said.
Meanwhile, Governor Peter raised concerns that the Ilimo Dairy Farm had not made profits. The Central Provincial Government holds a 30 percent stake in the farm and has provided 400 hectares of land. She said it was “high time” new management was put in place and that the farm invest in long-life milk with better breeds of dairy cattle to boost production.
