Local taro on SNS shelves

LOCALLY grown taro is now available on the shelves of a supermarket chain in Port Moresby.
City Pharmacy Limited (CPL) Group through its Stop and Shop (SNS) supermarket will stock Wantok Fresh Produce ‘Frozen Taro’ in its supermarkets.
Developed in partnership with Wantok Produce and the National Agricultural and Research Institute (Nari), Wantok Frozen Taro is grown and sourced locally in Morobe Province, packaged and exported internationally, with the first successful export to New Zealand completed recently.
The product was launched at Stop and Shop Waigani Central by Wantok Produce managing director Dr Polutu McCarthy, Nari chairman Nimo Kama and CPL Group general manager, marketing and advertising, Christopher Lam in the presence of staff and customers.
Lam said SNS was the first major domestic retailer to sell the new product, supporting our ‘We PNG buy PNG’ buy local campaign, giving customers more options for fresh local produce.
“The retail partnership is expected to have a positive impact on local producers and contribute to the economic vitality of the communities involved,” he said.
McCarthy said: “We hope this is small step in a positive direction for all of us and especially for the people of PNG.
“And I urge everyone to come and support us, it is our own product.”

McCarthy said farmers, most of whom were women, struggled to find markets for their produce but he hoped that with partnerships and a coordinated effort more Papua New Guineans could benefit. It costs them K80 to take their produce to the market. And whatever they make, they have to pay market fees, boys at the market, transport etc…
“But what we are doing now is going to the villages in Morobe to buy taro. It is a long and hard road and we won’t be able to do it alone. So we are looking for investors, including the Government,” he said.
McCarthy said his company spent K5,000 for every load of taro bought from the farmers.
“That is money given to the mothers in the village, and it stimulates the economy in the villages as all those people out there do not have the market.
We are helping them by buying their taro. It is not just Morobe taro, but West New Britain, Kainantu, Goroka and Mt Hagen.
“We are looking at Northern province and maybe teaming up to organise farmers in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville,” McCarthy added.
Nari chairman Nimo Kama said it was what the Government had been advocating, to “start producing ourselves to meet domestic demand and in the process create employment and income.”

He said Nari was happy to be involved with the private sector.
“Nari is realising the government’s policy on public-private partnership.
“It is a public service research agency. We provide research support to PNG in agri-business as well as smallholder farmers,” Kama said.
“In partnership with Wantok Produce, we have exported taro to New Zealand.
“This is the first supply to the domestic market.”
Kama said there were seven taro varieties.
“So we have progressively developed and advanced our taro technology. We hope that our people can get the best taro in the world.”