Maru sets target to make Yangoru-Saussia a multi-billion-kina economy

Yangoru-Saussia district MP, Richard Maru is keen on seeing his district shift from a multi-million to a billion-kina economy through empowering the local economy.

Mr Maru believes the main source of revenue will be generated from the Cocoa and Chicken projects which started a month ago.

He said Yangoru-Saussia District is currently the leading cocoa producing district in the country producing over 14 metric tons annually.

“In one fiscal year, around K60 million comes into the pockets of the farmers in the district. Currently, there is rise in cocoa prices due to global cocoa shortage. Climate change-induced drought has ravaged crops in West Africa, which contributes around 80% of the world’s cocoa output.

“With the high price, our people are now earning over K1, 000 per ton of cocoa and there is around K100 million circulating in our district however, when West Africa comes back, prices will fall,” Mr Maru said.

He said the money generated by cocoa will meet the daily needs and wants, however, in the future, they look forward to doing more than cocoa production.

“Also go into chicken production since the demand in PNG is high and there is shortage of supply,” Mr Maru said.

The local MP further added that another industry that would change East Sepik and West Sepik Province was oil palm.

Mr Maru explained that Yangoru-Saussia have enough land for 200,000 hectares of oil palm, meaning they can have 20 oil palm mills and can create over 200,000 new jobs if they plant up oil palm in all the grassland.

He said they just completed a survey in Kiniambo village which has offered 10,000 hectares of land to the Government for oil palm development.

“We will work on obtaining ILG and giving a land title to the people of Kiniambo in the next few weeks and they will go into oil palm development under our Sepik Plains Special Economic Zone [SEZ] which will create over 5,000 new jobs,” Mr Maru added.

Meanwhile he assured the people that the Sepik Plains Special Economic Zone office will be opened in Wewak in the coming weeks to move this oil palm project to Kiniambo.