Eastern Highlands women farmers attract interest in city

By BUSISI SIWAKA of DAL Information Branch

A group of women from the Eastern Highlands province are happy that their recent trip to Port Moresby has been beneficial.

The 18 women, mostly farmers and agricultural officers, participated at the floriculture show held during the independence anniversary celebrations.

The women, members of the Eastern Highlands Women in Agriculture Association, brought with them a wide range of floriculture products and fresh produce for display such as cabbages, tomatoes and carrots.

The different types of cut flowers attracted a great deal of interest at the four-day show held at the Waigani Arts Theatre.

Association vice-president Jennifer Kena said the women paid for the trip themselves but the experience they gained was worthwhile and they were looking forward to next year’s show. However, the women felt that the venue should be moved to a more central location to enable more visitors to participate.

The EHP women took out the first prize for the best floral arrangements and second prize for provincial participation.

Kena said eight provincial DAL staff and 10 farmers undertook the trip to learn more about marketing of floriculture and fresh produce and to seek potential buyers.

They were keen to share their ideas and experiences with other farmers and agriculture staff. They described the trip as a big success.

The EHP provincial food crops officer, Daisy Kiniafa, said the women brought limited supplies but found out that there was a huge demand during the show.

She said the women were so overwhelmed that they found it hard to price their goods.

“We learnt that there was a demand for cut flowers in the city,” Kiniafa said.

“The little we brought for display was sold out and we got many requests for new orders which we are working on after we returned home.”

Kiniafa said Chinese embassy staff were among the customers who showed great interest and had requested for a weekly supply of cut flowers.

She said the women’s group was becoming more organised and promoting and encouraging more women to be actively involved in agriculture.

Besides floriculture and fresh produce, women are encouraged in livestock farming, apiculture, rice production and cash crops.     

More awareness needed on food security and the fight against hunger

A member of the awareness team explains the petition to school students at Waigani market

The Government has been urged to conduct regular awareness on the importance of food security and how everyone can work together to prevent hunger and poverty.

Farmers, market vendors, workers and the general public made the call during celebrations marking World Food Day in Port Moresby recently.

This year’s theme was United against hunger and in the nation’s capital, staff from the Department of Agriculture and Livestock, National Capital District Commission, other government agencies, non-government organisations and farmer groups took to the streets to conduct awareness on food security and how government, private sector and the public can work together to fight hunger and poverty.

Ward councilors, for the first time, joined government officers and others to campaign for improved food security and more efforts to stop hunger.

The team, numbering over 100, convoyed in vehicles and also asked the public to sign a petition called the 1billion hungry project.

Many people in the city’s markets and suburbs responded to the awareness team by saying that the government needs to conduct regular awareness and educate the public on important issues concerning their welfare and livelihood.

 They said that food security was an important issue because people in the urban centres faced hardships and they need more assistance on ways and means to survive and have access to food and cash income.

Gustave Ivarature, 31, who resides at Gerehu, said many people were struggling to find food to feed their families.

There was limited land available for backyard gardening and people were resorting to making gardens on the hillsides.

He was sorry to hear about millions of people starving from hunger in the world and wanted to know what the PNG government was doing about our own situation here. 

He suggested that relevant government agencies should work closely to promote food security programmes and educate the people on ways to overcome hunger and poverty.

The WFD programme ended at Ela Beach where official speeches were made and the campaign team and supporters had refreshments.

DAL team leader and chief livestock officer Regina Nukundj thanked all the public servants, workers, company staff, farmers, ward councilors, school children and others who joined the campaign and visited the markets to talk about food and hunger.

Nukundj also thanked the government departments and agencies who provided assistance in cash and kind.

NCDC social services manager Kila Dick said WFD was important because it reminded the people on the importance of food and hunger and how communities should be responsible for overcoming hunger and growing more food.

He said hunger and poverty were having negative impact in the city as shown by the number of homeless and beggars on the streets.

The WFD campaign was one effective way of spreading the message about food and hunger and he urged all stakeholders to work together and find ways to alleviate hunger and poverty in the settlements, villages and communities.

  Hohola ward councilor and North-West council president Max Manale praised DAL and NCDC for including ward councilors in the WFD program saying they had existing networks with their communities and should be utilised fully to spread important messages.

He said it was important that all stakeholders work together to create opportunities and make the city a safe and better place to live and work in.

APEC nations reaffirm commitment to boost food security

Pacific Rim economies agreed on the need to boost agriculture production and facilitate farm trade and investment at the first ministerial meeting on food security held in Japan last week.

The 21 member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum adopted the Niigata Declaration on APEC Food security and an action plan aimed at rising world population and the threat of climate change.

“ Increasing the availability of sufficient, safe and nutritious food in the APEC region through expanded supply capacity, underpinned by variable rural communities, will be necessary to address a possible supply-demand imbalance for food that may result from future population and income growth,’ the declaration said

Papua New Guinea, a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations was represented by the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, John Hickey, who was accompanied to Niigata prefecture by his departmental head, Anton Benjamin..

The gist of the Niigata Declaration on APEC Food security adopted by the 21 member economies are:

·        Recognise the need to expand food supply capacity;

·        Agree to cooperate to help mitigate climate change and enhance disaster preparedness in the agriculture sector;

·        Agree to promote responsible agricultural investment;

·        Agree to cooperate to facilitate improved agricultural trade; and

·        Renew commitment to a prompt conclusion of the Doha round of trade liberalisation talks.

The APEC forum first ministerial meeting on food security came as a need arose to focus on how to feed the increasing world population and ensure stability in food prices following price spikes between 2007 and 2008.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations says to accommodate an estimated world population of over 9 billion by 2050, food production must increase by 70%.

The APEC forum also renewed its commitment to an early conclusion of the Doha Round of trade liberalisation talks and confirmed the extension of the 2008 APEC summit meeting agreement to refrain from introducing new barriers on investment and trade and export restrictions until 2011.

Under the action plan, member economies were assigned various tasks for ensuring food security and the forum agreed to report progress on the implementation of these tasks to the APEC ministers annually.

Japan assumed the rotating chair of the forum for the first time since 1995 and has been hosting a series of meetings throughout Japan.

APEC, which accounts for about half of the world’s economic output, includes Japan, Australia, China, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, the United States of America and seven members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations of which PNG is a member.

The outcome of the meeting will be forwarded to the incoming annual APEC leader’s summit conference to be held in November in Yokohama, Japan.

Opening up the Bulldog Track to Papua New Guinea and the world

By MALUM NALU

For anyone interested in diverse environments, superb wildlife, history and grassroots Papua New Guinea, the walk along the World War 11 Bulldog Road (track) from Wau in Morobe province to the spectacular Lakekamu Basin in Gulf province is superb, and not that difficult (since it's downhill most of the way).

Tekadu villagers welcoming MPs Nolam and Basil to a fire-making demonstration

Walking the Bulldog Track is a chance to see a whole transect of PNG cultures and environments from chilly highlands, to the coastal swamps and rivers.

The walk takes you through the heart of the 1920s gold rush area at Edie Creek along a gravity-defying road built during WW11 to relieve Wau from the Japanese siege.

Nolam took the honors to deliver ducklings to Tekadu villagers under the Australian agriculture programme

 The highest point of the track is in primeval moss and rhododendron forests at 3, 000m with amazing views out to the Papuan coast and descends through the Eloa gorge, lined with hoop pine forests to the Lakekamu Basin, where nearly all the major species of fauna in PNG can be found in abundance.

The last part of the trip is a raft or canoe trip down the Tiveri and Lakekamu rivers to the Gulf.

At the moment this area isn't promoted well enough for its eco-tourism potential, which is as yet untapped.

Saying goodbye before taking on the Bulldog Track for Nukewa village in Malalaua, Gulf province

Last week, history was made when Bulolo MP Sam Basil took Queensland state minister for transport Rachael Nolam and Max Willies of Australian High Commission, plus a contingent made up of Bulolo level level government presidents, councilors and staff into Tekadu village along the Bulldog Track and eventually on to Gulf province and Port Moresby.

The team flew into Tekadu on Monday last week from Wau and after launching of flights, walked the Bulldog and traveled by dinghy downriver to Gulf province before ending up in Port Moresby.

The first flight into Tekadu after nine years was made possible by Bulolo joint district planning and budget priorities committee

Tekadu’s 600-plus people are part of the 12 tribes of Watut-speaking people also known as Kukukukus.

Being caught in between Bulolo electorate of Morobe province and Kerema electorate of Gulf province, the Tekadu people have not seen any air services for the past nine years, well, at least until last week.

“Other essential services are non-existent,” Basil recalls after completing the trek.

“Children growing up to be nine years old do not have any formal education and have not seen any planes landing at their rundown strip.

Sick passengers and buai traders loading their bags and boarding the plane for Bulolo airstrip

“Let us not forget the unfortunate children who have lost their lives through birth and other diseases.

“Like many other airstrips in Papua New Guinea, it is sad to see the Transport Minister Don Polye, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, trying to spend K1.4 billion on Jackson Airport while neglecting such small rural airstrips.

“We are also seeing the same in health with Health Minister Sasa Zibe trying to spend K500 million on the Bautama City Super-Hospital while the rural health facilities are neglected.”

Tekadu culture on show

Basil, in his visit to Tekadu, urged the government to properly allocate the 2011 budget including the 2010 budget surpluses (K800 million-plus) estimated to be totaling over K10 billion, to rebuild aging infrastructure such as rural airstrips, national highways, rural health services, and district road systems to make the lives of rural dwellers easy because they make up over 85% of PNG’s population.

“Almost 90% of Members of Parliament represent rural electorates one way or another and must have rural people included in all their planning,” he adds.

“The Bulolo district joint district planning and budget priorities committee (JDP and BPC) in Dec 2009 installed a VSAT communication apparatus in Tekadu which has opened up communications in and out of Tekadu for almost a year now.

Nolam and Basil with ducks for Tekadu villagers

“The reestablishment of air services through North Coast Aviation (NCA) is just a follow-up service to complement the communication installation.

“Revival of essential services will automatically ride on those two very-important services: communication and transportation.

“A charter was negotiated and paid for a trip every month at the cost of K110, 000.

“The inbound flights will bring in government workers, building materials and medicine while return flights will carry sick and pregnant mothers, as well as buai (betelnut) bags.

“It is estimated that 600 to 700kg of buai can fetch close to K6, 000-7, 000 for those rural farmers.

“Buai is the only cash crop in the Tekadu while alluvial gold panning is in its infancy stages.”

Accessing Bulolo and Wau from Tekadu is very hard compared to using the Bulldog Track for Port Moresby.

Its takes almost a whole day’s walk into Nukewa followed by dinghy or dugout canoe trip from Nukewa into Malalaua the next day, then a PMV into Port Moresby if they are lucky, or wait another day so it takes about three days in total.

The costs are K100 boat fare and K60 PMV fare, totalling K160 one way or K320 both ways per person.

So the buai they sell must recoup the fares and pay for porters.

The launching was well attended by all on Monday, Oct 18, while the team took the Bulldog Track the next day.

Bulolo district administration was represented by the Wau rural LLG manager Judy Pokana, Mumeng LLG manager Amon and Waria LLG manager.

LLG presidents included Wau Rural LLG’ John Yawa, Mumeng LLG’s Mathias Phillip, and Buang LLG’s Steven Sep while Waria was represented by its deputy president.

The Bulolo team, including the MP, used the walk to see for themselves the hardship and the obstacles the locals encounter while also collecting data for headquarters in Bulolo upon their return.

On the way in a dug out canoe

“The people of the Gulf village, Nukewa, had a brief meeting with me and reminded me that I was the first MP to trek into their village,” Basil says.

“They told me of their lack of services and asked me to help revive them.

“I reminded them that I am the MP representing Bulolo electorate and would bring their concerns to their local Kerema MP, Pitom Bombom.

“I will, in fact, invite him and will accompany him there to also address the Bulolo people’s concerns in relation to the usage of the track and share some responsibilities for the wellbeing of Bulolo travellers.

“The trip from Nukewa took nine hours along the river system and another five hours into Port Moresby, with a press conference and tour of Parliament House.

“I housed half of the Bulolo team while the other half was accommodated in a guest house in Port Moresby.

“The team returned into back into the electorate on Friday, Oct 22.”

Feeger paints PNG to the top

By JASON GIMA WURI

A PAPUA New Guinea contemporary artist has won an arts battle competition in Shanghai, China, The National reports.

Jeffery Feeger, pictured working on his painting of an Angolan woman at the competition venue in Shanghai, was lost for words when his name was announced last weekend.

“I was awarded RMB 2,000 for my efforts in what was the most intense three hours I have ever painted,” Feeger said in an email to his family and friends back home in PNG.

“It was a packed house with artists creating all forms of contemporary art from photography to textile, graffiti, performance, body art, projection, water colour and acrylic,” he wrote.

“A truly unique experience and I am glad everything fell into place for me.”

The competition drew artists from the Pacific, Asia and Europe.

Ramu nickel JV firms laud DSTP court ruling

THE joint venture partners in the Ramu nickel project are supporting the decision of the national court in Madang to proceed with the construction of a deep-sea tailings placement system (DSTP), The National reports.

The court has ruled that the construction of the DSTP can now be completed.

Highlands Pacific managing director John Gooding said the partners – MCC Ramu Nico Ltd, Mineral Resources Ramu Ltd (representing the state), Mineral Resources Madang Ltd (representing landowners) and Highlands Pacific – supported the decision, saying it provided a practical way to resolve an extremely important issue for the project and the PNG mining industry.

“We look forward to completing construction with the DSTP being the last major component after the significant disruption of the last six months,” he said.

Gooding said this would be an opportunity for the facts on DSTP to be presented, some of which included:

* The tailings are of low toxicity which are treated and neutralised prior to release;

* The depth of the pipe outflow will be 450ft below sea level with the neutralsed slurry dropping to much deeper depths;

* The annual tailings represent less than 7% of the 80 million tones of sediment estimated to be deposited annually by rivers in the same area (which has occurred for thousands of years)

* The significant number of independent studies undertaken as part of the environmental approval process which occurred in 2001; and

* Monitoring systems and compliance standards will be in place for the projects duration

Highlands Pacific owns a 8.56% stake in the Ramu nickel/cobalt project worth US$1.4 billion.

Enga shame

Teachers among students caught drinking homebrew

TWO secondary school teachers and 20 students have been arrested by Wabag police in Enga for allegedly drinking homebrew, The National reports.

Wabag police last Friday arrested 12 Grade 12 students at Pausa Secondary in Wapenamanda and another eight Grade 12 students with two teachers in Wabag town for drinking homebrew and behaving disorderly in public.

Provincial police commander Supt Martin Lakari said the students from Pausa, a Lutheran church-run school, stored homebrew in their dormitories and consumed them straight after their national examinations.

He said the students were drinking homebrew and behaving in a disorderly manner on a school truck while on their way to Wabag town when policemen intercepted and arrested 12 of them.

Policemen searched the students and confiscated a number of 500ml containers of homebrew hidden inside their bags.

Lakari said the police were on their way to Pausa Secondary to attend an assault case reported by the school headmaster when they came across the drunken students.

The assault complaint allegedly involved a teacher from Southern Highlands attacking another male teacher from Eastern Highlands.

Police brought the students to the Wabag police cells where they were locked up. They later searched the town and arrested eight more students and two teachers.

Lakari said the students were drinking with their teachers, and were behaving in a disorderly and threatening manner in town when police caught them.

They were held for four hours and later released with a warning.

He urged Grades 10 and 12 students to go back to their villages after completing their national examinations to assist their parents rather than engaging in shameful acts.

Also in Wabag, police raided a house at Pawas buai market near the town and confiscated 40l of homebrew last Thursday.

It was alleged that some Grade 12 students had bought fruits, sugar and yeast for the owner of the house.

Lakari told The National that after receiving a tip-off, policemen raided the house and confiscated the homebrew, 49 empty 500ml containers, a gas cylinder bottle, rubber hose, buckets and other items.

He said that the people involved in the production of the homebrew fled when police arrived.

However, their identities were known and police were investigating.

Lakari said this was the first time Enga police had confiscated a large quantity of materials allegedly used in the production of homebrew in the province.