Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Value adding technologies for women at Lae expo

Caption: NARI information sharing at an exhibition at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium in Lae last year

 

By SENIORL ANZU of NARI

 

Women attending the inaugural PNG Women in Business Expo in Lae this weekend will have the opportunity to learn about becoming small entrepreneurs through agriculture.

The National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in Lae will showcase simple technologies on “adding value” to locally available food resources.

Such displays and exhibitions will be on food processing technologies and livestock development.

NARI staff at Bubia and Labu near Lae will also share new and improved ideas and information on these technologies with interested women.  

The food processing technologies will include jam making using local fruits such as pineapple, flour from sweet potato or kaukau, pops and sweets from sago, and biscuits using cassava.

Women at the three-day expo at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium will also see a demonstration on proper methods of preparing different legume crops such as mung beans and peas for human consumption.

Legumes can substitute fresh meat since they contain an average of 25% protein.

 Legumes with vegetables and staples are a good and nutritious diet for the children.

The livestock programme will share new findings on developing broiler chicken feed using locally available food stuff such as kaukau and cassava.

Poultry farmers in PNG can improve the profitability of village broiler production using such food resources.

Feed rations can be developed using cassava with high energy concentrates and sweet potato with low energy concentrates.

Besides, a demonstration on milking goat will be arranged.

The publications unit will display and sell booklets of a range of new and improved agricultural technologies on food crops, emerging food and cash crops, livestock and resource development issues.

NARI will participate for entire three days starting on Friday during the opening.

 

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment