Papua New Guinea Livestock officer trained in Japan

Wandamu Palau of NARI (right) and poultry training participants on practical in Japan

Wandamu Palau of NARI on a practical during poultry training in Japan

Wandamu Palau of NARI (standing second from right) with poultry training participantsin Japan

A Papua New Guinea livestock research officer returned recently from Japan armed with new and improved skills and information on poultry production.
Keravat-based National Agriculture Research Institute officer, Wandamu Palau, attended a three-month poultry training at Fukushima, facilitated by the Japanese National Livestock Breeding Center (NLBC).

The training, sponsored by the Japanese International Corporation Agency, eventuated from Sept 1 to Nov 28.
Mr Palau said some useful information he learnt from this training which would be useful to NARI poultry development initiatives, especially at its Islands regional centre at Keravat, including specific skills in:
· Nutrition physiology in poultry;
· Feed analysis methods;
· General hygiene management and inspection methods in broiler and layer farm;
· Manure fermentation and utilisation;
· Science in chicken meat;
· Breeding local specialty chickens;
· Artificial insemination;
· Vent sexing of day-old chicks; and
· Sensory testing of different poultry meat.
Mr Palau said all or most facets of Japan’s poultry production system were mechanised and there is limited human input in poultry operation.
It was an experience to see and compare how PNG differed from the developed world like Japan, as far as production systems are concerned.
A number of field activities were undertaken as part of the training.
One practical was in disease prevention technology in which fecal samples of pintail migratory birds were harvested in Lake Towada in Northern Japan and HA and HI lab tests for detection of HPAI virus (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus) were performed.
The Pintail migratory birds migrate to North of Japan to rest in winter season and travel widely between Russian, California, and Alaska.
Nine countries benefited from this training which included Bangladesh and Ghana in West Africa (two participants each) while Malawi, Uganda, Egypt, Myanmar, PNG, Sri Lanka and Ukraine (former Russian Republic) had one participant each.