August 3, 2010

Fresh chicken demand soars in Papua New Guinea

The demand for fresh chicken in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea has climbed significantly over the last two years.

The main supplier of day-old chicks in the region, the Christian Leaders Training College in Banz, Western Highlands Province, cannot produce enough to supply the demand. The farm was able to produce 700 boxes, each containing 50 day-old chicks weekly but that was still not enough.

Staff at the facility said the demand for day-old chicks had further increased to 2000 boxes weekly and indications were that it would soar with the new market provided by the LNG project in Southern Highlands Province.

"We have a serious problem here with a vast market demand that can't be met. We just can't produce enough to meet the increasing demand on the market," development officer John Hunter said.

The farm was established as a self support program to sustain the operations of the college. Apart from the day-old chickens, the college is also the biggest distributor of eggs in the region. It produces 120,000 eggs on average per week. Cattle and meat birds are other products the college produces and sell.

The dairy facility was closed down due to strict regulations some years back. Its farms generate up to 75% of the college's operational funds while 25% comes from student tuition fees and donor agencies. Although the institution was established in 1965, it has not received any government grant, even though it produces Christian leaders in the country and the Pacific region.

The recent prolonged dry spell has threatened the farms in the college, forcing them to collect water from nearby creeks. The college has already felt the negative impact of the LNG project when the normal trucking firm it uses to transport stock feed and other supplies up the highway has left for the lucrative offers from the project. To make up for this, CLTC recently bought a truck of its own to transport its cargo up and down the Highlands Highway.