Central Province’s food bowls are Koiari and Goilala

Goilala and Koiari have been called the food bowl of Central Province.

And this has only been a saying until the recent opportunity provided by a helicopter company, Airbone Logistics PNG has proven so.

From providing flight services into these remote areas, Airbone Logistics in June this year started buying fresh garden produce from farmers which they bring and resell in Port Moresby.

This has now become a daily routine where dry freight from Port Moresby is flown into Goilala, Koiari and Dorobisoro and the aircrafts returns with fresh garden produce.

According to the Produce Manager Marik-Ka Allgood, the company buys off food from the local farmers.

Back in Port Moresby, these produce are then divided where some are supplied to businesses like City Pharmacy Limited, some are sent to local markets and the rest is stored and sold from the Hanger.

“There’s just an abundant supply in these villages but there’s no way to bring into the city so what we’ve done is like a win-win for all of us.  We are providing a means of income for these farmers which have been very rewarding. We also have set up stores in these areas so we bring goods from the city up and sell to them.”

The company last week opened a formal market store, located at the Corporate Jets Hangar, Seven Mile from which it sells fresh produce.

With two storage freezers, fresh produce varies from shillots, ginger, kaukau (English potato), tapoika, ripe banana, radish, taro and orange and more.

“We receive more national customers here, I think because this venue is safe and the produces is really fresh, it can be harvested in the morning and flown into the city the same day.”

The company aims to expand this as a sister company to AL , under the name Village Produce PNG, which will go on to be PNG’s biggest wholesaler of fresh produce.

Author: 
Gloria Bauai