30/09/2025
*RESPONSE STATEMENT*
_By Chief James KOND Nambe Ketilga President, PNG National Farmers Federation Inc (through KVDA Inc)_
Setting up a commercial poultry project with integration of fresh meat, egg production, day-old chicks, and local animal feed production is not rocket science. What we lack is not the knowledge or the resources – but the political will to put ownership back into the hands of Papua New Guineans.
For too long, our leaders have preached foreign investment as the only solution, while neglecting our struggling indigenous resource owners – the farming families and fishermen of PNG. This is a dangerous trend. Our people have the land, the labor, the skills, and the passion to build a sustainable agricultural future.
Agriculture must not be sold out. Any major agricultural venture must be 100% Papua New Guinean–owned under a proper Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, with the National Government as a supportive partner. Ownership must be driven through established agri-based cooperatives, such as the PNG National Farmers Federation, which represents the voice of our grassroots farmers and customary landowners.
We already have the human resources:
Graduates from Unitech, UNRE, PAU, UOG, UPNG, and the Highlands Agricultural Training Institute,
Customary landowners organized under associations and cooperatives,
Farmers with decades of experience who only need capital and government support to thrive.
We also have the land – our people can declare their customary land as collateral through cooperatives, and with this the Agriculture Bank of PNG (AgBank) or government financial institutions can provide loans to kickstart commercial ventures. This system will allow the government and our people to grow together – with equity, profitability, and prudent management as the guiding principles.
The Commercial Agriculture and Livestock Sustainable Development Business Platform, if funded could launch integrated poultry and livestock projects across th
