Third-year University of Natural Resources and Environment agriculture students Levi Wartowo and Moy Dawa (pictured above) were recently reunited with friends they thought they would not see again until June this year. The two students recently crossed paths again with old acquaintances, Professor and Bursar, the two bulls that the students had carried out teethering on while they were on six weeks industrial work experience at Warangoi Cattle Station at the end of last year. The bulls were moved to the University’s Vudal Farm and when the students learnt of this, they wasted no time in going to visit them. Their practical last year involved maintenance of fence lines, planting pastures and weed control. Field supervisor John Kamut also taught them cattle handling and cattle training techniques. In teethering, they used bamboo to make a hole through the nostrils of the bulls and tied a rope for control. Both students appreciated the knowledge and skills they gained and had hoped to return to Warangoi during the semester break in June to learn more.
Based on information on the website below, it now appears the Papua New Guinea government knew about the effects of the waste disposal process of the Ramu mine yet chose not to release the report. Exactly what does that say about the PNG government? _____________________________________
An unpublished report commissioned by the PNG government from the Scottish Association of Marine Science, states that the submarine tailings disposal by the Ramu nickel mine could have widespread environmental impacts. The PNG government has refused to release the report findings, but a copy was given to a surprised Deputy Prime Minister, Puka Temu, by Rai Coast landowners on Monday when they also presented him with a 7,500 signature petition against the marine dumping. The SAMS report says the mine waste will not lie dormant on the sea floor, as claimed by the Chinese State owned Ramu mine, but will be widely dispersed in the Vitiaz Strait, notably towards Madang and Kakar Island and across Astrolobe Bay The publication of these findings will also come as a serious embarrassment to Madang governor, Arnold Amet, whose home village is on Kakar Island. The Report also assesses the environmental impact of marine waste dumping at two other PNG mines, Lihir and Misima, and finds there has been significant damage. For Lihir the report finds "an unambiguous demonstration that ongoing DSTP has major impacts on the abundance and community structure of meio- and macrofauna, extending to water depths of at least 2020 m". While at Misima, "significant tailings impacts are still apparent 13 years after the cessation of DSTP".
Papua New Guinea democracy recently raised its head and asked to be recognised with the public demonstrations over the Maladina Amendments in Moresby and Lae. But will this activity achieve any lasting effect? Clearly it is the intention of PM Somare to just sit tight and let the storm pass over. He has claimed that as Parliament has already passed the Maladina Amendment, it is too late to listen to the will of the people. Along with the 'adjournment of Parliament, the Moti Report and many other previous examples, Somare is now depending on the traditional PNG custom of noisy talkfest's and moribund inaction to continue to allow him to rule unmolested. Is there no one who will bring the problem to a head? Will he be allowed to get away with it again? The longer it goes without continually following up on the public sentiment expressed in the demonstrations and in signing of the petitions, the easier it will be for Somare to sweep it all under the carpet yet again.
John Bokosou of NARI IRC giving out some helpful hints to youth participantsA crowd of the youths listening to Gadi Ling during the training By JOHN BOKOSOU of NARI
National Agricultural Research Institute’s Islands regional centre at Keravat in East New Britain province conducted an agricultural training for youths last month.
The training was targeted at youths surrounding Keravat and was aimed at enabling peer-to-peer groups in agricultural development.
They learned about taro beetle management, especially fungicide applications; vegetable field nursery in sowing and management during seedling stage; and cocoa pruning including marcotting.
Over 20 participants attend this training.
They were interested in helping themselves and their peer groups.
Among the trainees were a few parents who are youth counselors.
NARI Keravat also distributed information and planting materials to them.
Gadi Ling, a NARI Keravat scientist and outreach officer, said getting information and practicing it in their own time would greatly help themselves in the long run.
“This small training will provide you to be self-sufficient in food and cash and be a good member in your community and family,” Mr Ling said.
He said NARI encouraged partnership and collaboration with other rural development institutions and churches to provide skills training to youth groups.
FromPAUL OATES What comes first, the chicken or the egg? There is an interesting article in today's The Nationalabout Australia's aid to PNG. The PNG Foreign Minister's is reported to have claimed that much of the Australian aid given to PNG was wasted on consultants and advisers rather than health and education. In response, Australia's Foreign Minister has stated that Australia will conduct a review of those adviser's effectiveness with partner governments. This review will be jointly undertaken by AusAID and partner governments. "Australia was committed to providing 'most effective' and 'value for money' advisers", Mr Stephen Smith is reported to have said. However before some heave a collective sigh of relief that something is finally being done to answer years of criticism and reported inaction, let's first examine the statements from both Foreign Ministers in more detail. There is no denying that PNG's Foreign Minister has an excellent point. Some overseas advisers and consultants are reported to have been paid fabulous amounts by AusAID. Reports of so called 'boomerang aid' have been around for years and refer to the 'giaman' (false) process whereby Australian consultants are paid in tax free dollars by the Australian Aid program and therefore PNG does not accrue any benefit. In the newspaper article, it is claimed that local PNG experts are not available and therefore, overseas consultants have to be recruited. But why are local experts not available? Could it be that they can't get past the recruitment process or haven't the managers of aid programs thought about training PNG people to actually be able to do the work involved? Many educated PNG people must now find employment overseas as the political appointment system is reputedly severely affected by the 'wantok' (fellow language speaker) process or just plain nepotism and corruption. The old idea that, "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys", has somehow been morphed into the notion that if you pay someone a lot of money you are bound to get good results. Wrong! In this case, the only results AusAID have reputedly achieved have been to clearly increase a few foreign bank accounts. Over many years, PNG's governments are not entirely squeaky clean however, when it comes to funding health and education. These programs are the direct responsibility of the PNG government and that responsibility can't just be shifted to Australia's overseas aid program, as the report intimates. A recent enquiry into PNG government finances revealed horrendous discrepancies in how most government departments are managed or mismanaged as the case appears to be. Lastly, it is reported that those being held responsible for the overseas aid programs (AusAID and partner governments), are to 'review' their own programs. Well that's a relief. For a moment one might thought that someone independent and other than those responsible for the problems were going to conduct the review. Phew! We almost might have uncovered some problems areas that neither AusAID nor their 'partner governments' might want the taxpayer to know about. Whoops! That would be a recipe for change. ______________
Aust to PNG: Aid review in order
By YEHIURA HRIEHWAZI in Brisbane
THE Australian government is committed to reviewing effectiveness of its aid to Papua New Guinea to get "value for money" following its complaints that a lot of the money was wasted on consultants. A post-budget statement released by Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith on Tuesday night gave details of its aid commitments to Indonesia, Africa and the Caribbean nations. However, it made no mention of aid support to PNG except in reference to its continuing commitment in helping reducing deforestation and carbon emission. Smith said Australia was committed to conduct a review of advisers' effectiveness with partner-governments. While PNG is a partner and the PNG aid component was expected to be over K400 million, Smith did not make any indication of it. PNG used to be the largest overseas aid recipient until recently when Indonesia had become the focus of Australia as its strategic development partner while PNG hummed the tune of aid reduction and self-dependency. In the 2010-11 budget handed down by the federal government on Tuesday night, Smith said Australia aid commitment to Indonesia over the next four years will be A$323 million (K804 million). In direct response to PNG Foreign Minister Sam Abal's recent outburst that much of Australian aid to PNG was "wasted" on consultants and advisers instead of the needy areas of health and education, Australia was committed to providing "most effective" and "value for money" advisors. "In 2010-11, AusAID will undertake a review jointly with partner governments on the use of technical advisers in the aid programme. "The review will seek to ensure each adviser is the most effective, value-for-money response to meeting agreed need and priorities," Smith said. Reacting to Abal's criticism against the boomerang aid last month, Australia's parliamentary secretary for International Development Assistance Bob McMullan said Australian consultants and advisers brought to PNG crucial skills that were often not available locally. "Australia and PNG jointly decide on the areas of focus of the Australian aid program. "The PNG government frequently requests Australia to provide technical experts to advise PNG government departments, and approves these appointments. "These advisers bring crucial skills that often do not exist locally," spokesman for McMullan told The Nationalvia email from Canberra.
Hellen Komkombe, Carolyne Tambarie and Emma Apool attend to the kaukau plot during one of their practical sessions Lihir girls Hellen Komkombe, Carolyne Tambarie and Emma Apool checking on the vegetable plot at the college
By SOLDIER BURUKA of DAL A group of young people from faraway New Ireland province are making use of their time at the Highlands Agricultural College in Mount Hagen.
The 10 students from the Lihir gold mine area are studying basic agriculture farming and are pleased with their own efforts so far.
Four of them are females who are Grade Eight school leavers and six are males, of whom four are Grade 10 leavers and two are Grade Eight leavers.
With them is another female, a Grade 10 leaver who is doing her second year.
The students are thankful to their sponsor, Lihir Sustainable Development Organisation, for recognising the importance of promoting agriculture in the mine impact areas on the island and encouraging school leavers to be trained in basic agriculture farming.
The 10 students enrolled in the six-month agriculture training program in February this year.
They said that landowners in the past concentrated mainly on mine-related activities, but were now realising that mineral resources were only for the short-term and that agriculture remained as the backbone of the economy and the people’s livelihood.
With that in mind, the landowner company took the important step and sponsored the group to be trained at the Department of Agriculture and Livestock-operated agricultural college.
Although far away from their island community, the Lihir students are now used to the cold climate and have settled in well and concentrating on their certificate in agriculture farming course which covers crop production, livestock production (including piggery, poultry, small ruminants and cattle), rural life development, project management and communications.
The group will graduate next month.
The students said they were aware of the mine impact on the people’s lives and realised that such major development also had its disadvantages.
Because of the people’s concerns for their future livelihood, the landowner company placed its trust in its young people and wanted them to be trained as agriculture workers so that they could promote and create awareness on agriculture rehabilitation and expansion.
The company has its hopes pinned on the school leavers to create opportunities in agriculture farming for the mine impact communities.
The students upon their return will also look at potential crops like coffee, aquaculture and vegetable production on a bigger scale.
“As school-leavers we realise that the only way to help our people is to teach them about agriculture farming,” they said.
“We also realise that often many students think of getting office jobs or going to universities, but we must think about helping our own community at the grassroots level.
“It is our duty to help the people who have been affected by the mine development in the past couple of years to resettle and participate in meaningful agriculture activities.”
Another group of students from the Porgera gold mine impact areas in Enga province, sponsored by their MP Philip Kikala, is also studying at the college.
Deputy Prime Minister and Abau MP Sir Puka Temu has approved K38, 000 from his electoral funds for the establishment of a series of resource centres in the district.
The National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) will establish the centres.
The approval was made during a special joint district planning and budget priority committee (JDPBPC) meeting for Abau district held in Kupiano on April 21.
While approving the funds, Sir Puka expressed his appreciation towards NARI’s research-for-development (R4D) initiatives in his district over the recent years.
Sir Puka also expressed concerns that soil productivity had been declining in villages in the Aroma local level government (LLG) and asked NARI scientists to develop soil improvement programmes in Aroma.
During the meeting, Clifton David Gwabu of NARI’s Southern regional centre at Laloki in Central province presented the resource centre budget to Sir Puka and JDPBPC members.
Mr Gwabu thanked Sir Puka and his committee members and assured them that the funds would be used for continued R4D work in Abau through the resource centre concept.
While updating on NARI’s past, present and future development plans in Abau, Mr Gwabu revealed to date NARI’s presence was in Merani in the Cloudy LLG and Maopa and Egalauna in Aroma LLG but now, with the funding, NARI would extend its work to Amazon Bay LLG in addition to further expansion in other parts of Aroma and Cloudy Bay LLGs.
Mr Gwabu said NARI was currently piloting an agricultural innovative project called Life Long Learning for Farmers (L3F) in Abau district, which upon its success, would be extended to the rest of Central province.
The budget was presented at the request of Isoa Damai, the business representative of Abau JDPBPC, who is also the leader of Merani farmers who are working through NARI’s resource centre network.
Mr Damai invited NARI to put a budget proposal together because since the start of NARI’s work in Abau in 2007, there was no direct funding assistance from the district.
He said collaboration and partnership was now being strengthened.
