Post Courier November 2 , 2022
Basamuk Landowners Association has invested in the agriculture sector to erect six copra dryer projects using its K300,000 Community Development Fund (CDF) for 2020 from Ramu NiCo Management Limited.
This landowner investment will not only benefit the impacted Basamuk communities but also those non-impact communities, as the copra dryer projects will be implemented in six different locations where the locals can dry their copra in those respective locations.
The project includes buying a new tractor to help the farmers transport their coconuts to thein copra dryer locations, hardware materials, kiln copra pipes from Lae, transport and other necessary costs, totaling K300,000.
The CDF scheme is a discretionary fund aimed at engaging landowners’ participation and involvement in community impact projects in all sectors.The fund will relieve the company’s obligations under the project’s memorandum of agreement, giving more responsibility back to the landowner association to decide the development aspirations of their communities.
Materials have already been shipped out to Basamuk and are now ready for the implementation phase of the projects.
The delay in having the projects up and running on time was due to the barge that is used for transporting such equipment being on dry-dock for a whole year.
With these copra dryer projects set to be implemented, talks are already under way with theKokonas Indastri Koporesen (KIK) to improve marketing.
