Timely help for Goilala farmers

By WALLACE KIALA in The National

FARMERS in the Goilala area in Central province are being encouraged to continue to grow the best vegetables and raise livestock, given the exceptional cooler climate in the area.

The high altitudes of Tapini, Woitape and Kerau all in Goilala have exceptional climate conditions similar to that in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Tapini boasts some of the best vegetables and cash crops grown and livestock such as poultry, piggery, goats and cattle raised by its locals.

The last time I visited was last Saturday where we were greeted by the best in garden produce from nuts to starch: taro, singapore, cassava, yams, bananas, kaukau, sugarcane, peanuts, tomatoes, beans, carrots, onions, coffee, rice, oranges, cabbages, passion fruit, pineapple, avocadoes and breadfruit.

Local farmers from around Goilala gathered at the Tapini station last Saturday to celebrate the registration of their cooperative society groups. The area has fertile land for farming as these fruit and vegetable stalls show.-Nationalpics by WALLACE KIALA

Sebastian Amai is a coffee farmer from Tapini and has been for over 20 years.

To date he has three coffee gardens with 4900 coffee trees.

The assistance by the Central Province Development Corporation last Saturday provided seed money of K1, 000 each to 19 co-operative society groups in Goilala.

Amai’s group, Tova Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society, received its K1, 000 capital funds which should ensure a promising start.

Sebastian Amai, a small scale coffee grower in Tapini for over 20 years, seen here with a display of some of his Arabica green beans during the co-operative societies launch at Tapini station last Saturday

Apart from this, the Department of Commerce and Industry’s cooperative societies unit (CSU) would be assisting with an additional K19, 000.

 The CSU unit accompanied Governor Alphonse Moroi to Tapini last Saturday.

Meanwhile, a new coffee roasting machine was recently bought from the United States and placed at Konedobu.

Small scale coffee farmers like Amai would be assisted in having their coffee processed and marketed.