Extension delivery concept realigns to major government initiatives and policies

By SOLDIER BURUKA of DAL

The realignment of agricultural extension systems such as the Smallholder Support Services Expansion Project (SSSEP) with the National Agriculture Development Plan (NADP), DSP 2030 and Vision 2050 will further strengthen and boost agriculture productivity and development.

Department of Agriculture and Livestock deputy secretary for technical services, Francis Daink, said this in Lae when opening the SSSEP Inception Workshop today.

Delegates from Eastern Highlands provincial administration and SSCF Unit discuss their strategy before the workshop.-Pictures by JOY WOKTAMUL, SSCF Unit, Lae

Daink called on all the stakeholders involved with the SSSEP and in the realignment process to work closely to achieve these objectives.

He said this was a government direction that needed to be carried out and urged all partners to make positive contributions.

One of the pillars in the Vision 2050 relates to wealth creation focusing on amongst other renewable resources, the agriculture sector, whilst DSP 2030 considered agriculture as one of the important sectoral strategies through economic corridors concept and NADP based its key programmes on enhanced productivity, research and extension, food and nutrition security, agro-forestry, human capacity and information improvement.

The SSSEP concept now being introduced into two new provinces, Central and Chimbu, looks at research and extension for development, innovations, human capacity development and others.

Daink told the workshop participants that their positive and valued contributions would assist in ensuring that the realignment process would bring good results for the SSSEP so that it was successfully implemented in the provinces.

 Morobe province’s deputy administrator for corporate affairs, Geoving Bilong, said the SSSEP concept, trialed in Morobe and Eastern Highlands provinces could be successfully introduced and implemented into the current delivery of extension services.

He said the concept had been successful in these provinces and believed that it could also improve extension services in Central and Chimbu provinces.

 He said in Morobe, many farmers who went through the pilot phase of SSSEP said that it had had a positive impact in their livelihoods.

Bilong said due to its overwhelming success, the SSSEP should be extended to other provinces. He thanked the New Zealand government through NZAID for contributing over K3 million for the expansion phase.

The Lae workshop was attended by officers from Morobe, Eastern Highlands, Chimbu, Central, Department of Agriculture and Livestock, Department of National Planning and Monitoring and NZAID.

Smallholder Support Contract Facility staff from Morobe, Eastern Highlands and project coordination unit in Port Moresby facilitated the two-day workshop.

The issues discussed included the implementation approach, implementation schedule, logical framework, monitoring, and status of inception report, management information systems, service provider associations, and gender mainstreaming.        

Plan aims to reduce cocoa pod borer in Papua New Guinea

By SOLDIER BURUKA of DAL

A 10-year strategic plan is to be launched as part of the government’s efforts to combat the spread of the cocoa pod borer (CPB) infestation in the country.

Relevant government agencies will work closely with the private sector, provinces, industry groups and farmers to implement the strategic plan as from this year.

A concerted effort by all stakeholders including adequate funding is vital to make the plan work, as the government is determined to boost cocoa production to 100,000 tonnes by the year 2015.

 Despite the spread of CPB, the industry has achieved a new record in production of 59,350 tonnes for the 2008/9 cocoa year.

CPB was first reported in East New Britain province in 2006 and has since been detected and confirmed in seven cocoa-growing provinces.

 The latest confirmation is from Baluan Island in Manus province.

At the same time cocoa is making inroads into the highlands region with new plantings in Simbu and Western Highlands provinces.   

The plan was revealed at a recent meeting of the national CPB steering committee held in Port Moresby.

Officials from the Cocoa Board, PNG Cocoa Coconut Institute, Department of Agriculture and Livestock, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, East New Britain, Madang, New Ireland, and two companies, Agmark Pacific Ltd and Monpi Cocoa Exports attended the meeting.

Provincial representatives in particular were happy with the news saying that more positive action with funding and resources were needed to tackle the CPB problem.

Cocoa Board acting chief executive Lauatu Tautea said the plan would involve the active promotion, facilitation and the adoption of CPB management practices including the integrated pest and disease management (IPDM) technology as a way of reducing CPB infestation and sustaining cocoa production.

The strategy will include training and awareness on the CPB management technology, provision of essential tools and chemicals.

He said the support of stakeholders including private companies and service providers was essential in the overall success of the plan.

“Of paramount importance is the sustainability of the project which is anticipated to be achieved through training as well as from farmer support activities,” Tautea said.

“Adoption of good practices by cocoa farmers in growing, producing and processing of cocoa at the end of the day is most important.”

Tautea said that if CPB was not contained and managed effectively it would result in huge economic losses which would give rise to other social problems.

Officials from the provinces were happy with the news and requested that funding be made available quickly for the programme to commence.

Private sector representatives said it was a positive move by the government and stressed that they were ready to work closely with key agencies to fight the CPB problem.

 They said the private sector was already working with cocoa farmers in areas such as setting up of nurseries and conducting farmer training.

Political reviews of Melanesia

Dear friends and colleagues,

An excerpt of the contemporary Pacific journal Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2009 – can be found on this link http://groups.google.com/group/malum-nalu/web/TCP22.2PolRv.melanesia.pdf - for your interest.

Our friend and colleague, Solomon Kantha, was in fact the one who passed it on to me.

Papua New Guinea's review of issues and events in 2009 is also included in this issue. 

 

Best regards,

 

Malum.

 

AIDS awareness under trees

From BRUCE COPELAND

 

It is great news to hear that the National AIDS Council Secretariat Director Wep Kanawi has announced a new approach to AIDS awareness in this country.

Counsellors are to go out to give awareness talks under trees and after church.

AIDS Holistics has been doing that for many years.

We have even adopted a church and helped them with their present slogan “strongim family”.

The tide is turning against foreign donor organisations that go out into the provinces to run four-day seminars to selected people and live in the hotel room

of the top hotel in the town.

People come for the lunch.

The pressure is now on the message given out.

No more can foreigners talk on rights and no responsibilities.

A church will make sure there is appropriate focus on family.

No more focus only on condoms.

It is good that Messrs Hopley and Collins of PACE are back to talk about paedophiles disguised as tourists coming to seek sex with children in the Pacific.

They will come disguised as AIDS advisors.

UNICEF says that children have the right of association.

That means their parents cannot stop sons and daughters from having sex with paedophiles.

Many foreign advisors will never go out to sit under trees and talk.

They do not speak Tok Pisin.

 

LGL-Newcrest merger to create US$25b empire

Miner to acquire high-margin, one-gold asset, says Gaurnaut 

 

By PATRICK TALU

 

THE merger between Lihir Gold Ltd (LGL) and the Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd (Newcrest) will create a A$25 billion (K60 billion) company with portfolio of a long-term high margin and a tier one gold asset,   LGL chairman Dr Ross Garnaut said yesterday, The National reports.

The merger agreement was finally signed yesterday in a special meeting among shareholders in Port Moresby for the proposed merger through a scheme of arrangement (SOA) announced last May.

 LGL shareholders overwhelmingly approved through a secret ballot the merger during the meeting.

They approved the SOA with 99.86% of the total number of votes cast at the meeting, exceeding the required majority of 75% as ordered by the Waigani national court.

The final hurdle for the merger is approval of the scheme by the national court with the hearing scheduled on Friday.

If approved, the scheme will become effective Aug 30 and is scheduled to be carried out on Sept 13.

“Through merger with Newcrest, we can immediately deliver strong returns to our shareholders with certainty, while simultaneously achieving greater diversification, reducing costs and improving our risk profile,” Garnaut said.

 “For the local communities where we operate, they can be assured that Newcrest has an excellent track record as a good corporate citizen, committed to delivering on its promises, sharing the benefits of its mining projects equitably, and operating in a way that is sensitive to diverse cultural needs and practices,” he said.

Gaurnaut said that Lihir mining project had played a special role in the development of the country’s mining industry and economy.

“It has demonstrated that with careful management and close co-operation with communities and governments, large-scale mining in PNG is consistent with exemplary outcomes for relations with communities and governments and for the environment,” he said.

“Newcrest’s commitment of more than US$10 billion (K27.25 billion), mostly for the Lihir Island asset, is a large vote of confidence in the PNG investment environment.”

Garnaut stressed the Lihir operation would continue to generate wealth and enhance society in the region for a long time to come.

“We expect high profitability will make the Lihir operations the second largest taxpayer in PNG next year.

“We have started paying sustainable dividends to shareholders.”

Newcrest chairman Don Mercer said the merger would create one of the world’s great gold mining companies with an outstanding platform to deliver superior returns to shareholders.

“The combination of Newcrest and LGL will create a world class portfolio of high quality operating mines and growth opportunities capable of delivering long term, sustainable production growth within the lowest cost quartile of the global industry,” Mercer said.

Bulolo shuts down as armed locals hunt rivals

EMBATTLED Sepik settlers in Bulolo are blaming the Morobe government of being slow in repatriating them, The National reports.

Their statement followed the killing of two young Sepiks, who were believed to be from the care centre, at the Saksak settlement and the severe wounding of 12 men by locals on Sunday.

The toll included 10 homes which were also razed by locals at Saksak, Jinker Road and New Camp.

The 12 critically wounded men have been rushed to Lae for intensive care at the Angau Memorial Hospital.

As the situation worsened with all schools, shops and the bank closed, locals were entering Bulolo with guns, bows and arrows and knives to join forces at the town market while the 32 policemen try their best to contain the situation.

Fears of fighting have forced all transport operators off the roads.

Residents in Wau last night said all shops were without food and the Morobe Mining JV, developer of the Hidden Valley gold mine, had not made any freight runs since Sunday.

Several Sepiks in Bulolo said people at the care centre wanted to leave, but the provincial government had not helped the district to repatriate them.

The plea was an about-turn by the Sepiks who, up until last Friday, had demanded the Morobe and national governments to find land in and around Bulolo to resettle them.

“They were so staunch in their demands that they went out and attacked local villagers panning for gold in the Bulolo River – both as a revenge for the April attacks and as a sign that this was as much their home as it was the Morobeans,” a PNG Forest Product employee said.

More than 2,000 Sepiks are now camped in the care centre at the PNG Forest Products premises, with very little to survive on. They had no clothes, no food and medicine.

The rations ran severely low yesterday.

On Sunday afternoon, locals from Bulolo camped at the town market.

Residents said the number of locals was rising every evening, with people coming in from the villages with bows and arrows, bush knives and axes.

Police also reported that they had proof from ballistics that the locals had “a number of sophisticated rifles”.

More than 30 policemen were stationed in Bulolo with reinforcements expected in from Port Moresby and Goroka today.

The police themselves have been burdened with logistical support. They have not been paid their previous three-month allowances.

Last weekend’s 21-day operational call had also not been paid.

The policemen are paying for meals out of their own pockets.

“What is worse, they are paying for calls to police headquarters using their own units on their mobile phones,” an observer said. 

The police also suffered at the hands of the locals.

A resident policeman was stripped of his uniforms and his house cleaned of all its items yesterday.

Warning out on child sex tourists

By ALISON ANIS

 

INTERNATIONAL consultants on child abuse and sexual exploitation have warned Papua New Guineans to be cautious of child sex tourists, The National reports.

These are people who target specific countries and travel under the guise of tourists but with the intention of sexually exploiting young girls and children.

Carl Collins and Ian Hopley, during a joint presentation at a one-day seminar addressing child abuse and sexual exploitation, said PNG had the potential of being a target for child sex tourists because of problems with enforcing laws, widespread corruption and poverty where money does the talking.

Hopley said commercial sex was rampant in Pacific countries, including PNG, and the country had to be aware of how the perpetrators operated to safeguard their women and children from being exploited.

“Many of these tourists are now targeting countries in the Pacific because other countries have introduced extra territorial legislation,” he said, adding that the legislation was introduced to safeguard women and children from these perpetrators.

Collins said sex tourists were mainly paedophiles or preferential child molesters who visited selected countries for the wrong reasons and to sexually exploit young girls and children.

Hopley said with reports of high child prostitution being experienced in PNG and an increase in commercial sex trade, the boom in the mineral, fishery and logging industries could also attract sex tourists.

However, he said this would happen on a few occasions as a majority of the sexual abuse on children in PNG would be carried out by Papua New Guineans.

“Foreigners arrested in the Pacific should, wherever possible, be charged with the relevant offences under the local laws and dealt with in the country where the offence occurred.

“In this way, it will sent out a warning to sex tourist that they are not welcomed here,” Hopley said.