Labour Supply And

Transport

One native labourer to approxi itely 11 acres is required. Cost employment (subject to some :iation) is about £lOO-£llO p.a. per xmrer (including rations, kit ues, recruiting and repatriation arges, etc.). Local casual labour, icn available, would cost con lerably less.

Availability of labour is largely ated to the area involved, but ficulties are fewer on the High ids where the population and >our potential are greater. Labour not so plentiful at low levels, ere a shortage may be encoun ed during the picking season. In »st areas, however, there would sufficient assistance available for aring, planting, pruning and .intenance. The lower cost of aring and establishment in the jhlands is offset to a large ex it by the high cost of air freight.

Access to the Highlands is by . There is a network of roads ving the internal sections of ; Highlands, but some bridges ye yet to be built. In the San •a area there is a road to the ist. Access could be constructed the Wanigela-Sinapa area.

Production Economics

>etailed estimates of coffee-grow : capitalisation costs per acre are

difficult because of the number of factors involved—varying avail ability of labour, type of forest cover, distance from major port, local terrain, use of catch crops and extent of mechanisation.

Estimates by Agriculture officials show that costs of development might vary from £5O to £2OO per acre, according to these factors.

They consider that the minimum size of a coffee plantation for economic production by an indi vidual settler would be 40 acres.

The Department suggests an area of 500 acres on the lowlands or 1000 acres on the highlands for a company estate maintaining its own factory.