Drought plan launched in Lae

Chief Secretary to Government Manasupe Zurenuoc today (Wednesday, May 05, 2010) launched a major drought preparedness plan at the National Agriculture Research Institute at Bubia outside Lae.

The plan, appropriately titled, "Preparing Rural Communities in PNG for Drought and Climate Change", involves NARI as Papua New Guinea prepares for the next major expected drought in 2012 after the havoc caused by the last El Nino-induced drought in 1997.

Mr Zurenuoc said the launching of the project was very timely and relevant to the lives of PNG's farming and rural communities as the effects of climate change were all too real in these areas.

He said the changes taking place in the country's rainfall patterns had been much more sudden and unexpected due to variations in the strength and frequency of El Nino events in the tropical Pacific.

"These events are triggering severe dought conditions in PNG once every 10 to 12 years," Mr Zurenuoc told a stakeholder forum at Bubia.

"There are two major concerns with these El Nino events: the associated drought conditions they bring have been getting progressively more severe and causing ever-greater food and water security problems; and because they only happen sporadically, every 10-12 years, the necessity to put contingency measures in place to help them cope with these problems."

He commended NARI for taking the initiative over the past three years and campaigning to prepare PNG for drought, and indeed another mega-drought in the near future, particularly principal scientist Dr John Bailey.

Mr Zurenuoc said the PNG Government recognised the importance of what NARI was doing and was pleased to provide funding for this initiative under its Public Investment Programme (PIP).

"This will be a long-term investment to assist NARI and its partners in equipping a network of resource centres throughout the drought-vulnerable parts of the country," he said.

"It is envisaged that these resource centres – possibly 50 in total – will be located at existing stations or bases owned and operated by various extension or outreach organisations including the Department of Agriculture and Livestock, divisions of primary industry, non-government organisations, community-based organisations, schools and church-based organisations.

"I understand that NARI will work in partnership with all of these organisations to ensure that our communities are well prepared to cope with drought events in the foreseeable future."

The model resource centre, launched by Morobe Governor Luther Wenge, will be built at strategic points around the country.

"The model resource centre, on show here today with its poster displays, food-processing demonstrations and indoor technology displays, illustrates the types of information and resources that need to be made available to out rural communities," Mr Zurenuoc said.

"They have shown us how to alter the ways in which we manage and use our food and water resources in order to minimise the risks to food and water security during crisis."

Preparing Papua New Guinea for drought and climate change

From MALUM NALU in Lae

Hundreds of people are expected to converge on the National Agricultural Research Institute at Bubia outside Lae tomorrow (Wednesday, May 5) for the annual Agricultural Innovations Show for 2010 to be staged at its Sir Alkan Tololo Research Centre.
The programme starts at 8.30am and continues for the whole day.
This will be the fourth year of this ‘information exchange and knowledge sharing’ event in which partner and collaborating organisations in agricultural and rural development will display and exhibit their innovations and improved technologies and interact with farmers and the general public.
Over the past four years, NARI has been spearheading a campaign to prepare Papua New Guinea for recurring periods of prolonged drought linked to changes in the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
In recognition of the urgent need to prepare PNG for such a scenario, the theme of NARI’s innovation show this year is: “Preparing PNG for Drought and Climate Change”.
As an integral component of the event, NARI is also hosting a major stakeholder forum under the banner: “Preparing PNG for Drought”.
This aim of this forum is to raise awareness on drought nationally and to debate how best to prepare rural communities for drought conditions.
NARI has invited representatives from all the major international and national aid agencies and government institutions concerned with food and agriculture, environment and water security issues in PNG.
Guests will include Acting Chief Secretary Manasupe Zurenuoc, Morobe Governor Luther Wenge, National Planning and Monitoring Secretary Joseph Lelang, John Malai from PNG Red Cross, Andrew Kalai from Salvation Army, Merilyn Gairo from Adventist Development and Research Agency, Dr Siddhartha Datta from World Health Organisation as well as NARI Director General Dr Raghunath Ghodake and scientists Dr Pikah Kohun, Dr John Bailey, Dr Akkinapally Ramakrishna and Dr Workneh Ayalew
Local NGOs, churches, community-based organisations and rural farming communities have also been invited to participate in this forum.

Papua New Guinea in African tube

By JAMES WANJIK

 

When Ghana gained independence Africa celebrated. Colonialism could be removed. The celebration was short lived. Then new form of colonialism crept in. It was neocolonialism. It was colonialism by Africans against Africans.
South Africa had apartheid till 1990. Congo had no government for years. Somalia has no government with pirates running riot in Somali waters. Nigeria has civil war in the Niger delta where oil is produced and exported.
Many African countries are mineral dependent economies. They rely on mineral receipts for keeping respective national economies alive.
The resource law and policy favoured the outsiders. Land and resources were hard to get in former colonising countries.
Recent oil spill in Gulf of Mexico jostled President Obama's plan to allow oil and gas drilling in offshore of USA. No such action would be possible in Africa.
Africa is a black continent. War rages on in many black nations of Africa. Politics of oil, minerals and money power is the source, means and end of many of these wars.
Papua New Guinea is now well positioned to follow African tube way. Panguna mine led the onslaught. Ok Tedi mine destroyed the Fly. Misima closed leaders' eyes. Ramu is waking up people of Madang. Nautilus is moving people of New Britain and New Ireland. Liquefied Natural Gas will let all hell break lose in Hela.
So many leaders are working for money. It is the reason for bad leadership and corrupt governance in PNG.
PNG is vulnerable now more than ever before. Only true national professionals will tell truth and advocate truth for change. Change where PNG people become source, means and end of development.
PNG is now a nation of resource abundance. It is a land of milk and honey. No leader is leading people for people. Money and more of it has made many leaders arrogant. Arrogance leads leaders astray. Many of them are on the way to being exposed and deposed.
Any leader who is worth his or her salt will make PNG a place for all PNG people. Where leaders use money and position to dictate what, for who and where development should take place is leadership of position power play PNG must reject.
PNG needs leadership of development where all people of PNG will share in the spoils of development. This will land power playing leaders without power.
Tunnel Vision 2050 is a dangerous plot. Never have we been openly lied to as we are with Vision 2050. National Alliance Party has been systematically manipulating leaders, advisers and institutions to stay in power. More and more leaders are realising it and exposing it. No way and no more will they continue without people making a stand.
Our leaders are only opening their eyes from deep slumber. People have political power and it will be leaders who will politicise leadership for leadership of development. Sun and rain leaders will be removed and replaced with all weather leaders. Only then will PNG get out of African tube.

Partnership is important in serving the community

By BUSISI SIWAKA of DAL

 

Public and private partnership between government agencies, non-government organisations, community groups, business houses and local community is important in promoting better livelihood.

One good example is the community work carried out by the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation (PNG) Inc, through its network of Couples for Christ members, in and around the Gerehu suburb of Port Moresby.

One of the partners it is working closely with is the Department of Agriculture and Livestock, which has actively promoted food self-sufficiency including rice cultivation and teaching livelihood skills.

DAL has already been given special recognition for promoting agriculture and good livelihood within the community around the Gerehu suburb, which comprises mostly of landowners of Koitabuan origin and settlers.

Alex Sanny, who has worked with the community on behalf of Gawad Kalinga, says the organisation is doing a good community service and there are positive changes having an impact on people from different ethnic backgrounds and not only Koitabu people.

Gerehu and its settlements on the fringes are regarded as unsafe but that is slowly changing, thanks to the efforts by Gawad Kalinga and its partners, he said.

Many people are beginning to show interest in the group’s activities, which include farming, youth and church activities.

Mr Sanny, a Bougainvillean married to a Koitabu woman, said there had been overwhelming support from organisations such as Super Value Stores, National Capital District Commission, City Pharmacy Ltd, PNG Power Ltd, Digicel and others. Infrastructure and facilities that have been established included houses, a pre-school, clinic and a multi-purpose hall for community activities.

He said with DAL, some livelihood projects had already been implemented including backyard gardening and floriculture.

Plans are underway for development of livestock projects in poultry and piggery.

More residents are being encouraged to venture into agriculture farming activities.

DAL’s women in agriculture development unit and food security branch, and Fresh Produce Development Agency, have been in the forefront in encouraging the residents, mainly local landowners, to grow their own vegetable gardens and produce rice for consumption.

Mr Sanny said the most-important thing was that everything was being done through the Lord’s blessings and he urged all stakeholders to maintain that Christian spirit and continue the good work.

Partnerships and freight subsidies will boost agriculture growth

By SOLDIER BURUKA of DAL

 

Public private partnerships and freight subsidies will assist in promoting agricultural production, particularly the cash crop industry, according to Western province Chamber of Commerce and Industry executive and PNG Rubber Industry Board chairman Warren Dutton.

Mr Dutton made the call during the recent Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council (CIMC) Southern regional development forum in Popondetta.

He said without strong public private partnerships and workable freight subsidies, the production of most smallholder crops had been in continual decline.

Mr Dutton said previous governments had introduced a policy on freight subsidies for smallholder produce; however, it had not been properly implemented.

He questioned why recommendations by the National Agriculture Council and CIMC national development forum for a freight subsidy scheme were yet to be implemented.

He said that without the partnership between village growers, co-operatives, buying and exporting companies, provincial governments and the national government there would be no cash crop industries in PNG.

Without freight subsidies to provide acceptable prices, all those industries would die, and 85% of PNG’s population would be the losers.

Mr Dutton told the forum that freight subsidies could be made to work in PNG.

“It is the most cost-effective way of distributing the large revenues that are already being earned from mining and oil projects and that will be earned from the LNG project,” he said.

“Surely, now is the time to use some of the funding of the NADP and the revenues which will flow from the LNG project, to provide the freight subsidies that will stimulate our most-remote and neglected smallholders to restart and/or increase their production.”

Mr Dutton said without subsidies, production of most of PNG’s smallholder crops had been in continual decline.

Production has been in decline ever since PNG “destroyed” its plantation industry and the partnerships which the plantations had with their neighboring smallholders.

He said the Government’s policy of encouraging public private partnerships was correct because it would rebuild the relationship which used to exist between smallholders and expert agricultural investors.

Those expert investors are then responsible for providing the training, transport, and marketing for their neighboring smallholders.

Most importantly they must pay an acceptable price for the smallholder’s product.

Mr Dutton said many cash crop industries were under threat because the prices offered to the smallholders were not acceptable to them.

The low prices do not provide an acceptable return for their labour.

He told the forum that the Western province smallholder rubber industry was the only successful smallholder rubber industry because it had hardworking village growers, a good public-private partnership and freight subsidies which allowed the growers to be paid an acceptable and competitive price for their cash crops and labour.

North Fly Rubber Limited’s public-private partnership first with Ok Tedi Mining Limited, then with PNG Sustainable Development Program, and now with the Western province administration has contributed greatly to the development of a sustainable rubber industry in the province.

OTML has for the past 18 years shipped processed rubber from Kiunga to Port Moresby or Queensland, allowing rubber growers to be paid an extra 25t per kg for their cup lump rubber.

 Now it allows them to be paid an extra 43 toea.

Without this assistance it would not have been worth the growers’ while to ever tap their rubber trees.

Rugby union alive and well in Kavieng

Caption: Kavieng rugby union action between N4C and Royals at the weekend.-Picture by GEBING JETHRO

 

By GEBING JETHRO in Kavieng

 

Kavieng rugby union has been running its pre-season competition for the last two weekends and next weekend heads into its seven competition.

Eight teams are set to tussle for the sevens crown this weekend.

In-form teams include Nomads and Royals, who have retained most players from the Buluminski Marlins, semi-finalist at last year’s Black Orchid Sevens in Buka.

The rest of the teams will be out to showcase yet some hidden talents.

Teams taking part are Royals, Nomads, Redskins, Watersides, Plumbers, N4C, Snafu and Putput.

An invitation is still open to intending teams.

After the sevens, it is planned to have a shorter 15’s season.

All teams are set and a planned three-day basic clinic on rules and skills will be run tomorrow (Tuesday, May 4), Wednesday and Thursday by Samson Korong, Mack Lentruth and other key figures in the local rugby fraternity.

Organisers have seen a huge interest among Kavieng youngsters and want to get them all on board.

The next thing is to establish contact with and affiliate with the PNG Rugby Football Union.

Interim committee members running the show are Sergent Silau (Digicel 72844465) and David Lotar (Digicel 71523501).     

All teams must attend tomorrow's clinic starting 4pm at the Court House Oval.

A meeting will also be held.

Protest march reminder

To all

Be advised that the planned protest march by the Port Moresby public has been approved by the police commissioner to be staged tomorrow and is expected to be violent, as criminal elements will take advantage of the situation to engage in activities like looting, rioting, etc.

The protesters will assemble at Boroko and will march to Waigani.

Therefore, remind the kids to stay away from these areas.

All the PMVs will be off the roads and shops will also be closed for business.

Tok save tasol.