Transforming Agricultural Research for Development

By JAMES LARAKI of NARI

Sweet potato (kaukau) is a staple food in PNG, especially the Highlands region and research efforts are continuing to improve its production. Pictured are field staff at NARI Highlands regional centre at Aiyura, Eastern Highlands, showing kaukau tubers harvested from a trial

Agricultural Research for Development (ARD) is earmarked for a major transformation globally with the creation of a roadmap outlining the priorities of the ARD agenda.
The roadmap, known as the “GCARD Roadmap”, was created with the contributions and dynamic interactions of stakeholders that participated at the first Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD1) held in March 2010 at Montpellier, France.
The GCARD1, organised by the Global Forum on Agricultural Research, was aimed at meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing hunger and poverty in the world.
The role of women in farming and in agricultural research, that of civil society, partnerships and capacity building within national and regional programmes were among the main topics covered at the Montpellier conference.
The roadmap highlights the urgent changes required in ARD systems globally, to address worldwide goals of reducing hunger and poverty, while ensuring environmental sustainability and meeting the needs of resource-poor farmers and consumers.
It establishes a process of reform and capacity development that aims to mobilise the full power of agricultural knowledge and innovation towards meeting agriculture and food-related development needs.

The roadmap proposes a six-point plan for transforming ARD around the world, requiring actions related development from all those involved in the generation, access and use of agricultural knowledge:

• The need for collective focus on key priorities, as determined and shaped by science and society;
• The need for true and effective partnership between research and those it serves; 
•  Increased investments to meet the huge challenges ahead and ensure the required development returns from ARD;
• Greater capacities to generate, share and make use of agricultural knowledge for development change among all actors;
• Effective linkages that embed research in the wider development context and actions enabling developmental change; and
• Better demonstration and awareness of the development impact and returns from agricultural innovation.

The GCARD Roadmap is a plan for urgent, collective action in ARD, derived from the views and analyses expressed through the GCARD process.
It matches solutions with short and long term goals that can be reached through many paths.
This roadmap has three major objectives, to:

(i) Reach a consensus on important needs in transforming agricultural research for development and the solutions required to satisfy those needs;

(ii) Provide an inclusive mechanism by which to look forward; and

(iii) Provide a common framework to plan and coordinate actions for development impact. The GCARD Roadmap aims to transform ARD globally, from its current fragmented status to more coherent and cohesive systems for greater impact. Its goal is that agricultural knowledge, science and technology should play their fullest possible roles in removing poverty and hunger from the world.

The GCARD process proposes key challenges and opportunities facing agricultural research, technology generation, knowledge dissemination and delivery systems be prioritised and addressed.
It identified the changes required in research and innovation systems so that millions of resource-poor smallholder farmers and consumers could benefit from environmentally sustainable productivity growth and improvement in systems that can increase their food security and incomes to tackle the root causes of poverty.
The roadmap is in line with the shift in National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) globally aimed at meeting the real needs of the resource-poor farmers in the context of ARD.
The ARD phenomenon is a paradigm shift in making agricultural research more effective in creating positive development impact, especially smallholder farming and rural communities.
The ARD concept has gained wide acceptance internationally and looks to be a promising approach in improving rural livelihoods.
In PNG, National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) and other NARS organisations are much advanced in this process and are in a prime position to take advantage of funding opportunities from global donors.
As a lead organisation in ARD, NARI is developing ARD initiatives in collaboration with the PNG NARS and other stakeholders and partners in the Pacific and regionally.
However, with the development of GCARD Roadmap, it highlights the overall need for increased investments not only by donors but also by national governments and the private sector to meet the huge challenges ahead and ensure the required development returns from ARD.
Even though PNG through NARI and other NARS institutions are well advanced in ARD, it is also evident that the PNG NARS have to continue to increase their capacity to successfully undertake the given task.
It is therefore relevant to demand continued and increased support from the national government and other donor agencies to provide an opportunity to consolidate and strengthen the achievements being made by PNG NARS in the ARD context.
NARI is in a process of transformation into a results‐oriented organisation including the mainstreaming of the ARD paradigm as the business approach throughout the organisation.
In 2011, NARI will focus further to develop the institute and build its capacity to create a congenial (internal) environment for ARD, which should result in improved service delivery for its primary clients, the smallholder farmers of PNG.
Given the necessary support and investment in ARD, NARI and the NARS institutions are ready to take up the challenge and are looking forward to making their contribution to a ‘Smart, Wise, Fair, Healthy and Happy Society’ by 2050.
And the GCARD Roadmap indicates that this transformation is the responsibility of all those who care about the future of agriculture and its role in development.
“Business as usual” is no longer an option; it is time for all players to act.
And we must, for PNG to be on par with the global transformation.

Farmers need effective information material

By SOLDIER BURUKA of DAL

From left are Prof  Anthony Youdeowei and Solomon Islanders Peter Trena and Rosemary Alabae discussing extension materials needs with farmers at Kamba village, outside Madang town

The effective and efficient dissemination of agricultural technical information to the farmers will help to boost agriculture development in the Pacific island countries including Papua New Guinea.
This was the message given to participants attending a two-week extension training workshop in Madang province.
Madang provincial administrator Bernard Lange, in officially opening the CTA/IRETA workshop on participatory production of agricultural extension materials, told participants from PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu that agriculture was still the important livelihood for majority of Pacific islanders and they needed reliable and relevant information on agricultural farming practices and other technical information.

Participants at the CTA/IRETA Extension Training Workshop pose for a group photo at Madang Resort Hotel.-Pictures by JACKSON KAUMANA, DAL Information Branch

“It is important that agricultural extension officers and others are trained to develop appropriate extension materials which can be disseminated more widely and in a timely manner to the farmers,” he said.
“Agriculture is still the livelihood of the majority of our people in the Pacific and PNG is the largest Pacific nation with over 80% of people very much dependent on agriculture.
“It is therefore an important initiative by CTA, IRETA and Department of Agriculture and Livestock to train the participants in developing materials to improve dissemination of technical information to farming families to change their farming practices to improve their living standards.”
Lange said information dissemination and awareness on agriculture would help in enhancing agricultural production that would improve the livelihood of farmers and their families.
He commended the three organisations for choosing Madang to host the workshop, adding that his province and administration were proud to be part of the government’s programme in implementing some major agriculture initiatives in the province, including food security, particularly on rice production.
“Through collaboration with other agencies, a successful rice extension programme has been implemented and the extension materials developed through this programme are among the best in the country, thanks to DAL,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of CTA director, Dr Michael Hailu, course director Prof Anthony Youdeowei said the workshop aimed to strengthen capacities in the communication of the outputs of agricultural research to farmers through the use of relevant agricultural extension materials to smallholder farmers.
He said the general objective was to strengthen individual and institutional capacity to improve the practical communication skills of agricultural extension agents as well enhance their ability to write and produce extension materials for field staff and farmers.
The course will enable participants to identify sources of agricultural information and acquire skills to develop materials in formats appropriate to the rural population they serve,
Prof Youdeowei said he believed the knowledge and skills gained would enable the participants to improve their professional careers and capacity building in producing extension materials to effectively promote the communication of agricultural research results to smallholder farmers in the Pacific.
He thanked the DAL, CTA, IRETA and Madang provincial administration for their cooperation in facilitating the workshop.
Among the participants are four from Solomon islanders and three ni-Vanuatu.
The PNG participants are from various agricultural commodity agencies, provinces and DAL.
Assisting Prof Youdeowei is Mohammed Umar, Director of IRETA.
It ends on Friday.

Independent review of AusAID currently underway

An independent review of AusAID is currently underway.

Details of this review are at http://www.aidreview.gov.au/index.html.

Submissions can be made in writing or via e mail.

Submissions to the review must be received before February 2, 2011 and the review's report will be available in April 2011.

The following are a synopsis of some recommendations that have been made in a submission to the Review Committee on AusAID.

Recommendations

·        AusAID has not been getting down to an operational level that is actually helping the average Papua New Guinea person;  

·        Before any aid future programme is commenced, publically-reported benchmarks for evaluating programme achievement must be established;

·        AusAID programmes must detail what ongoing skills transfer has been achieved by each programme and how this has been assessed;

·        Existing expertise is to be canvassed and utilised in programme design and operational implementation;  

·        Determining and involving the actual stakeholders at the lowest level in the implementation of any future programme;

·        Involve lower level government (LLG) in the implementation and monitoring of service provision. This will provide a direct link between aid recipients and those who are responsible for proving the funding;

·        Non-government organisations (NGOs) should be directly included in service delivery projects;

·        Local stakeholders are to be established and incorporated into any aid programme implementation phase to ensure ongoing ownership and value adding;

·        Bypass corruption at all levels above those who need the services;

·        Closely monitor and audit all programmes in Australia with at least two or more independent reporting structures and established risk management procedures. Digital photographs and the internet can be used to evaluate many programmes. There is no need for large numbers of overseas staff and consultants to be located on site.

Workers may have to wait for pay hike

By ALISON ANIS

 

PUBLIC servants anticipating a pay increase may have to wait until the Department of Personnel Management (DPM) and Industrial Relations Division (IRD), the two bodies tasked to look after public service payouts, sort out the implementation of the 18% increase announced by the national government last year, The National reports.

Officers from DPM and IRC are at loggerheads over certain responsibilities regarding the implementation of the pay increase for public servants.

DPM when contacted last Friday reported that it was IRD’s responsibility and that they were waiting for information from IRD before they could advice on the status of the payments.

Internal Relations on the other hand commented that no step had been taken to address the issue because they have not received any instructions from the secretary’s office.

“Our office has been bombarded with phone calls from public servants wanting to know when the increase will come into place,” a staff from IRD told The National.

“We told them that we cannot advise until we have received directions from the secretary’s office regarding pay increase. Right now there is nothing to implement because we have not received any instructions from the secretary.”

The DPM secretary was reportedly on leave and could not be contacted to give an update on the proposed pay increments.

An officer from DPM said IRD was the appropriate body to deal with the pay increments.

“Call the IRD, they are the appropriate division.  We don’ have that kind of information our desk,” a senior officer with DPM said then asked to give an update on the situation.

A senior public servant has raised concerns about  the delayed increments stressing that he had not seen any changes in his fortnightly wages.

 “The minister promised us the increase last year and this was budgeted for 2011. Pay 1 for Jan has begun but nothing has been done yet. Why is it taking so long to bring into effect the increase since leaders are able to easily increase their payment by 52%?” he said.

 

 

 

Ogio elected as new governor general

By JEFFREY ELAPA

 

THE National Parliament has elected Member for North Bougainville and Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology Michael Ogio as the ninth Governor-General of Papua New Guinea, The National reports.

Voting for the new GG went ahead last Friday despite a notice of appeal being served to the acting speaker, the clerk of parliament, the acting Prime Minister and the state solicitor.

The government, with its strength in numbers, elected Ogio defeating his rival Sir Pato Kakaraya 65-23 while another eight votes were declared informal.

Before taking the vote, Western Governor Bob Danaya raised a point of order if Ogio was going to vote himself, but the speaker ruled it out of order after giving several references of the elections of Sir John Guise and Sir Wiwa Korowi who were elected governor-general while being members of the House of Assembly and parliament.

Deputy opposition leader Bart Philemon also raised a point of order, asking the acting speaker if he was aware of any notice of appeal documents being served but the acting speaker Francis Marus said he was not aware of any court proceedings or order being served.

Vanimo-Green MP and PNG party leader Belden Namah also asked the chair to explain if Sir Paulias Matane qualified to be voted, but the acting speaker said he did not qualify.

As the vote was about to be taken, Ogio upon the point order raised on his eligibility to vote, sought leave of parliament and walked out of the chamber.

Before he takes up his post as GG, Ogio will travel to England to meet the Queen.

However, it is not known when this will happen.

This now leaves a vacancy in the ministry of higher education and the office of the member for North Bougainville.

A by-election is likely to take place as 18 months remains before the general elections next year when the writs will be expected out in May.

 

 

 

Border security operation starts

Sunset Merona to deal with illegal arms and drugs

By ANGELINE KARIUS in Vanimo

INCREASE in illegal activities such as drug smuggling, arms trade and gun trafficking along the PNG-Indonesian border have sparked security concerns among locals living in Vanimo, West Sepik, The National reports.

Members of the Regional Pacific Islands Regiment at Taurama barracks in Port Moresby joining their police and CS counterparts at yesterday’s launch of operation Sunset Merona along the PNG-Indonesia border. – Nationalpic by ANGELINE KARIUS

In addressing these concerns, a combined security operation was launched in the border town yesterday.
Code-named Sunset Merona, the operation would be carried out by disciplined forces personnel from the PNG Defence Force, police and Correctional Services, customs and foreign affairs.
The Sandaun provincial administration, through its security advisory committee, had requested the national government to intervene and re-establish authority and confidence at the border town.
However, reports said because of the long bureaucratic processes and procedures in the government system, the response did not come until last month.
Acting Police Commissioner Anthony Wagambie launched Sunset Merona on Saturday.
Acting director-general of the national security advisory committee secretariat Ian Jinga said at the joint parade: “This demonstrates and represents the national governments desire to pay greater attention in the management of our international borders.
“It also represents a response by the government to a call by the Saundaun provincial authority for government intervention

SSD trio clears air on stand-off

THREE members of the Special Services Division (SSD) said the police force is “unstable” under the leadership of acting commissioner Anthony Wagambie, The National reports.

The officers, claiming to represent over a thousand SSD members in Southern, Highlands, Islands and Momase regions, said that the recent “attack” on one of their comrades who received  serious injuries to his jaws and the confistication of their director’s vehicle including SSD weapons was a confirmation of this “stand-off.”

The senior officers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said last Friday that since the appointment of Wagambie to acting commissioner there had been tension between him (Wagambie) and the SSD command.

“We know that he (Wagambie) wants to take revenge on the SSD because he had issues with Gari Baki who was an ex-SSD member back in 2006,” one officer said

“He and his cronies are stirring things up to derail the SSD.

“We still respect the office of the commissioner, however, we ask the government to intervene and appoint a new commissioner and a new deputy who are neutral and not power-hungry individuals,” another said.

The men, who are under the directorship of Chief Supt David Manning, said they “won’t lie low and treat the beating of their colleague lightly” until their cries were heard.

They said the Post-Courier’s front page report last Friday, saying one of their officers was drunk and drove carelessly, was a “framed story” aimed at dismantling and tainting the image of SSD.

“The SSD is intact and we, on behalf of the silent majority, ask the government to appoint a new management to lead the police force.”

They refuted claims of indiscipline and said they reacted with a barricade on the road into the McGregor Barracks because their colleague was innocently beaten by “suspended officers” who were reinstated by the police hierarchy to execute an illegal act no less than that of criminals. 

Attempts to get comments from Wagambie on the weekend were unsuccessful.