Old friend to help Agricultural recovery

The days of ordering a fruit smoothie at the market and having it made with a canned product from New Zealand are fast coming to an end.
Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Robert Wigmore, who is also the Minister of Agriculture, met with the media Wednesday morning to discuss the progress of government’s $3.5-million Te One Kura, a project designed to revive agriculture in Nga-pu-toru, the Outer Islands grouping that includes Mauke, Mitiaro and Atiu, as well as Mangaia.
“We are in the final stages,” said Wigmore. “The budget has been passed by Parliament, and Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance are now working on the allocations to be involved with this project.”
Wigmore estimated the project will be operating before the end of the year, with the intention of reviving the economies of the involved islands while, at the same time, supplying fresh produce to Rarotonga to replace the imported variety.
“These islands before, in the 1960s and ’70s, used to be very productive in agriculture,” Wigmore said. “This is where we are coming from. We’re going to look at how we can revive what types of crops, how we’re going to move it, where we’re going to market it.”
There is also hope that any jobs created in the process will slow the trend towards depopulation.
“A lot the people, especially the younger generation, the working age, are leaving the country and going to New Zealand and then on to Australia,” said Wigmore. “The reason is because there are no other opportunities on their islands.”
Wigmore has called on an old friend, in the person of Peter Turner, to lend his expertise. Turner, the managing director of New Zealand company Fresh Direct, has a long family history with this country. One of his relatives was involved in the very first trade mission from New Zealand to the Cook Islands.
“The Minister invited me up to survey the scene and see what we can do,” said Turner of his consulting role. “Because we are importing significant amounts of product from elsewhere in the world, why aren’t we bringing it from the Cooks?”
Turner, who is travelling on his own dime, is accompanying Wigmore on his whirlwind tour of Nga-pu-toru and Mangaia.
“Obviously, the first thing we’re trying to do is establish what is required in Raro,” he said. “What does the tourist require? Is it pineapple? There is a whole host of products that we could be growing here and the minister has this vision for the Outer Islands to be involved in supplying a lot more of the primary produce to this market and the tourism market, as opposed to importing it.
There is a wish list of produce that might be grown but the final product will be chosen based on soil testing and studying climatic conditions, as well as determining what is commercially viable.
And then there’s the human element.
“It’s about inspirational leaders who will actually help the people to run with this vision and see reality returned in their pocket and in an economy where the young people will want to go and live and develop because they see the opportunities,” said Turner. “The minister has made it very clear that this is a long-term project that we have to look at.”

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