Rice research and development

By JAMES LARAKI of NARI

Rice is the second most important cereal in the world and staple food to about two billion people.

Rice germplasm evaluation field at NARI Bubia, outside Lae

Production is geographically concentrated in Western and Eastern Asia with more than 90%of world output. China and India, which account for more than one-third of global population, supply over half of the world's rice. Brazil is the most important non-Asian producer, followed by the United States. Italy ranks first in Europe.
Although rice is not a traditional crop to Papua New Guinea, it has been cultivated for over 100 years and has become a staple food to many people, with an estimated consumption of over 300,000 tonnes per annum.
Rice and grains have emerged strongly during the post-war era in PNG.
It has now become prominent in the household food basket, thus contributing a significant part to national nutrition and calorie requirements.
Despite its popularity, almost all the rice consumed in PNG is imported.
Importing rice is one of the most-contentious food policy issues in PNG. Commentators have suggested that the local population is becoming too reliant on imported rice.
These concerns prompted policymakers in the 1990s to set an ambitious target to produce approximately 50,000 tonnes by the end of the decade.

NR 1- 'C Fields'

Despite these goals, rice production in PNG has made little progress.
The estimated 10,000 tonnes produced is not sufficient to meet the growing demand. The scale of production has been limited by various technical, sociological, economic and institutional constraints.
PNG’s shifting farming systems, labour intensity and productivity, pests and diseases, have become major contraints.
These have been compounded with lack of continuous supply of pure seed, appropriate milling facilities, and lack of information and training.
The National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) has been active in promoting rice and grains development through scientific research since 2001 when all rice and grains research was transferred from the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL).
Research on rice and grains is aimed at addressing issues of food security and self-reliance with opportunities for people to participate in national development of rice production, distribution and consumption.
NARI rice and grains project takes heed of smallholder rice production using new and improved knowledge, information and technologies derived from scientific research under PNG conditions.
The current focus of NARI rice and grain project is on introduction and evaluation of upland rice varieties to contribute to improved productivity, quality and quantity of production.
Most of PNG’s local rice production is taking place in remote areas like Finchhafen and Garaina in Morobe, Maprik in East Sepik and inland Bougainville.
Therefore, it is necessary to have a number of varieties available for farmers at any given time that are high-yielding under low input, resistant to important pest and diseases, good eating qualities spread over diverse agro-ecological conditions.
In May 2006, NARI released four rice varieties to the PNG farming community (NARI Rice (NR) 1, NR 9, NR 15 and NR 16) suitable for upland production in the lowlands.
With a total of 1100 varieties obtained from the International Rice Research Institute in its germplasm collection, the project is identifying varieties that can stand out and suit a wide range of environments in PNG.
In some rice growing places such as Finschhafen and Garaina, growers have selected and maintained suitable landraces from earlier introductions.
“Waria Sunlong” of Garaina and Waria valley, and “Finsch Brown”, “Sukong Turung”, and “Finsch White” of Finschhafen are some examples.
Supply of good quality seeds is vital for rice production in the country.
Currently, the supply of rice seeds is coordinated by DAL.
Seeds of NARI rice varieties are distributed from NARI regional centres and can also be sourced through provincial DALs.
With annual import bill running into millions of kina, efforts to reduce import dependency remain a major challenge.
These efforts are being aided by various overseas governments, aid agencies and NGOs.
The government’s efforts are manifested in DAL policy document: ‘Papua New Guinea Rice Development Policy 2004 – 2014’.
This document is the successor to the National Rice Policy of 1998.
The latest policy document recognises the importance of rice as a staple food for the people of PNG and proposes a range of policy and programme interventions to provide a clear policy environment to mobilise resources to promote sustainable domestic rice development.
It provides a framework for partnership between the government and its development partners and donor agencies to support the domestic rice development.
Attempts to achieve self-sufficiency in domestic rice production over the years have had limited success, although it is a proven fact that rice can be grown in PNG. Despite renewed interest and recent reports of a surge in rice cultivation by local farmers throughout the country, domestic rice production is still remains minor and highly local.
This calls for coordinated efforts to review the factors which hinder domestic rice production in the country. Issues on access to rice milling facilities, shortage of trained personnel, technical support and credit facility, poor infrastructure and market access, continuous supply of pure seeds, information and support services, quality of locally-grown rice, and other contributing factors need to be addressed.
Research and extension support also need to be strengthened and supported to drive rice development in PNG.
Rice development needs to be promoted to the farming community for food security, income opportunity, and improved living standard of the rural population.

NR 1- 'C Fields' (before flowering)

Playing with the rules of Rafferty in Papua New Guinea*

BY PAUL OATES

* Rafferty's rules: An Australian expression meaning no rules at all

INDULGE ME FOR a few minutes while I examine the Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea [the citations are from the Constitution].

211. ACCOUNTING, ETC., FOR PUBLIC MONEYS.

(1) All moneys of or under the control of the National Government for public expenditure and the Parliament and the Judiciary for their respective services, shall be dealt with and properly accounted for in accordance with law.

In a recent statement, the Deputy Police Commissioner publicly identified that half of PNG's annual budget was lost to corruption.

Amazingly, no government Minister or representative chose to deny this statement or defend their responsibility to effectively and accountably govern PNG. Of course, with Parliament suspended, there was no forum for this disastrous situation to be debated and fully examined.

27. RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICE.

(1) A person to whom this Division applies has a duty to conduct himself in such a way, both in his public or official life and his private life, and in his associations with other persons, as not–

(a) to place himself in a position in which he has or could have a conflict of interests or might be compromised when discharging his public or official duties; or
(b) to demean his office or position; or
(c) to allow his public or official integrity, or his personal integrity, to be called into question; or
(d) to endanger or diminish respect for and confidence in the integrity of government in Papua New Guinea.

In a letter titled 'Former CJ (Chief Justice) gone too far' in the PNG Post-Courier of 2 March, 'Sprox Walker' writes:

The Former Chief Justice, current Regional Member for Madang and Justice Minister (Sir Armet) has gone way too far and lowered himself too low when he sacked the acting public prosecutor Wala Tamate….

His reason that Tamate has not performed his administrative duties competently is sluggish, insensitive and balant abuse of power —when Mr Tamate is handling the Prime Minister referral case to appear before a Leadership Tribunal.

However the former Chief Justice tries to justify his actions — he has gone far too low for a person that is supposed to understand the law better.

On the other hand the new Public Prosecutor — Camillus Sambua — is the blood nephew of Sir Michael Somare who is the Prime Minister that is now waiting to appear before the Leadership Tribunal. Isn't that illegal?'

Surely this can't be true? The acting Public Prosecutor sacked for apparently performing his duties correctly and a relative of the PM who has been referred for judicial review, appointed in his place.

141. NATURE OF THE MINISTRY: COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY.

The Ministry is a Parliamentary Executive, and therefore–

(a)   no person who is not a member of the Parliament is eligible to be appointed to be a Minister, and, except as is expressly provided in this Constitution to the contrary, a Minister who ceases to be a member of the Parliament ceases to hold office as a Minister; and
(b) it is collectively answerable to the People, through the Parliament, for the proper carrying out of the executive government of Papua New Guinea and for all things done by or under the authority of the National Executive; and
(c) it is liable to be dismissed from office, either collectively or individually, in accordance with this Subdivision.

In a recent article in The National, it was claimed that the Department of Personnel Management did not have records of the total number of public servants on the government pay-roll.

It seems the government is paying more than 300,000 public servants, including dead persons, wives, children and even people walking around the streets but still getting salaries each fortnight.

Apparently there are less than 100,000 public servants but there are no accurate records. Public Service Minister Moses Maladina said he was awaiting the return of secretary John Kali from holidays to map a way forward. He confirmed there were too many acting appointments with some acting in jobs for more than six months, which is illegal.

Isn't this the same Minister that claimed Deep Sea Tailing Disposal of toxic mining waste would only 'damage a few worms'. The same Minister who inspired recent large public demonstrations and petitions against amendments to weaken the Ombudsman Commission.

If Mr Maladina doesn't know what to do or how to run his Department, in the words of PNG's Constitution, he 'is liable to be dismissed from office.'

The PNG people could well ask why Mr Maladina is still a Minister. They could, that is, if there was a functional Parliament that sat for the required number of days set out in the Constitution.

Can anyone realistically claim that there is a government in control of PNG at the moment? If no one is obviously in control of the country then maybe there remains just a vacuum waiting to be filled?

Students nabbled for attempt on policeman's life

By JAMES APA GUMUNO

 

SEVEN high school students, facing charges of attempted murder, have been released on K200 bail each, The National reports.

They were among 17 people arrested by Wabag police in Enga over an alleged attempted murder on a member of the police mobile unit based in Laiagam district.

The incident allegedly took place on Feb 17.

Ten other men were released on K500 bail each with their guarantors also ordered to pay K500 each.

Police claimed that the Lanekep tribesmen, living at the edge of Wabag town, attacked First Const Caspar Maugla at the Wabag bus stop with bush knives.

This was in reaction to an incident earlier on during the day when one of their tribesmen was allegedly bashed up by a police mobile unit member during a drunken brawl.

Provincial police commander Supt Martin Lakari said Maugla was attacked while he was waiting to catch a PMV to Laiagam.

The victim sustained cuts to his forehead and parts of his body.

Lakari said bystanders at the bus stop reacted quickly and stopped the villagers from inflicting severe injuries, or possible death, on the policeman.

He said Wabag police also responded quickly and, with the help of bystanders, arrested the suspects and had them locked up in the police cells.

The accused were refused bail until last Friday when they made an appeal to the committal court.

The suspects would appeal in court at the next call-over, which was yet to be confirmed.

While condemning the attack on the policeman, Lakari said higher and stiffer penalties must be imposed  on such people to deter others from doing the same.

He also warned that police would not go easy on people who threaten or attack them, but would ensure their attackers face the full brunt of the law.

Maugla has been discharged from Wabag General Hospital and is recovering at home in Laiagam.

 

 

Floods destroy Anglimp area

By YVONNE HAIP

Classes suspended ... Avi Nazarene Elementary School students in Anglimp, Western Highlands, turned up for classes last Friday only to find their classrooms flooded as a result of heavy rain the previous night. Nearby, villagers lost their food gardens and livestock while the roads and bridges in the area have disappeared. – Nationalpic by YVONNE HAIP

THOUSANDS of kina worth of properties, education infrastructure and food gardens were destroyed at Avi in Western Highlands’ Anglimp district after heavy rain forced rivers to flood their banks last Thursday night, The National reports.
Students turning up for classes last Friday found their chairs and desks floating around and had to wade into the classrooms to save some of their items.
Classes were suspended for the day.
Families, on the other hand, spent the day draining flood waters from their food gardens while others checked on their livestock that could have fled the area or were caught in the floodwaters and carried away.
According to community leader Pr Solomon Lucas, the issue of flooding in Avi was ongoing and needed to be addressed at the provincial level.
He said flooding was brought on by drainage problems and, even though the local community had done its part to trying to resolve it, the problem had resurfaced and was affecting them.
He said the primary solution was to maintain and seal the feeder roads, with one of them leading to Baisu jail, and build proper bridges.
Lucas said in this way, the drainage system would be upgraded and streams, which caused flooding, could be diverted into the nearby Waghi and Penn rivers.
He said ongoing flooding and the problems it posed had gone unnoticed by the government and was a sign that government services in the district were either lacking or were in chaos.
Lucas said locals, a majority of whom were block holders, had suffered long enough and were wondering when existing services would be maintained.
He called on local MP Jamie Maxtone-Graham to bail them out of this mess as the people were being denied services when schools and roads were affected by the floods.
He said the community had played its part and now needed government intervention to replace the logs being used as bridges and upgrade the road system.

Border Development Authority celebrates second anniversary with new website

By MALUM NALU

Treasurer Peter O’Neill (left) and BDA executive chairman Pomat Manuai watch a projected version of the new website.-Picture by MALUM NALU

Treasurer Peter O’Neill says the Border Development Authority (BDA) is working towards increasing economic activities in the long-neglected border provinces.
He said this at a function last Thursday  to celebrate BDA’s second year in existence, launch of its new website http://www.bda.gov.pg/ ,  and the screening of a television documentary on the launching of BDA’s new vessel mv Manus Atolls.
O’Neill said BDA was working towards increasing economic activities in border provinces, and complementing the work of existing government agencies to improve the lives of rural people.
“These are the people we have ignored for the last 30-odd years,” he said.
“I see that the Border Development Authority is working towards achieving that goal.”
The BDA was established by an Act of Parliament in August 2008.
Provinces covered by the act are West Sepik, Western, Manus, New Ireland, Milne Bay and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
The BDA was officially launched on March 3, 2009, at the Ela Beach Hotel in Port Moresby.
The inauguration ceremony coincided with the appointment and swearing-in of board members followed by the first board meeting.
The main responsibility of the BDA is to improve the lives of people living in the border provinces of Papua New Guinea by coordinating and implementing economic, social, and security projects and infrastructures.

Petromin pays K100 million in taxes and dividends

By MALUM NALU
Petromin has paid K8 million as dividend to the state in the 2008 and 2009 years of operation, in addition to K105.5m in taxes to the government since 2008, according to board chairman Brown Bai.
Speaking at the opening of Petromin Haus last Friday, Bai said this was because of sound and prudent management, and urged management and staff to continue taking pride in their work and new office.
He also applauded last week’s decision by Mining Minister John Pundari to nominate Petromin to participate in four world-class mining projects: Solwara-1, Frieda River, Wafi-Golpu and Yandera.
“In our assessment,” Bai said, “these projects are operated by reputable operators and Petromin is happy to be a participant in these respective projects, because they will add value to the growth of the company and future prosperity of our people.
“Similarly, Petromin is comfortable to be a partner in the Moran oil fields and the PNG LNG projects, which are operated by world-class operators.
“Petromin is also a nominee in the second large Elk/Antelope LNG project, with a 20.5% equitable interest, led by InterOil Corporation.
“Whilst we have not been provided information on the recent arrangement between Energy World Corporation (EWC) and Liquid Niugini Gas Ltd (LNGL), we hope the project will be developed on schedule.
“…I am particularly excited about the future prospects based on major important investment decisions and new commitments that we have made to further enhance Petromin’s continuing successful performance.
“These include mineral and petroleum exploration programmes and commercial investments in partnership with strategic partners.”
Petromin currently has six wholly-owned subsidiaries which hold its equity in current and future projects: Tolukuma Gold Mines Ltd (TGM); Eda Oil Ltd (Moran petroleum project); Kumul LNG (PNG LNG project); Eda LNG (Elk/Antelope LNG project); Eda Minerals (mineral exploration and production); Eda Energy (petroleum exploration and production); and Petromin Shipping (LNG shipping).

A dream comes true for Petromin

By MALUM NALU

Petromin board chairman Brown Bai (right) with (from left) fellow board member Sumasy Singin, managing director Joshua Kalinoe, Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and Mining Minister John Pundari.-Picture by MALUM NALU

What began four years ago from the private residence of Petromin managing director, Joshua Kalinoe, has culminated with the opening of the magnificent K31.9 million Petromin Haus at 2-Mile in Port Moresby last Friday by Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.
From Kalinoe’s residence, Petromin moved on to the Government Printing Office, and then Pacific View Apartments before staff began moving into Petromin Haus on Jan 3 this year.
Petromin board chairman, Brown Bai, said the opening of the company’s new head office building was an excellent testimony of the will for Papua New Guinea to prosper through more direct and active investment in the development of minerals and petroleum resources.
“As the saying goes, ‘where there is a will, there is a way’,” he said.
“And Petromin plays a pivotal role in paving the way for the nation’s will to prosper from the revenue generated through our mineral and hydrocarbon resources.
“This process began with the creation of the Petromin Act and establishment of Petromin PNG Holdings Ltd and now it has its very own head office building.
“I am really proud of our hardworking management team and staff serving tirelessly in their new office to deliver on Petromin’s mandate to advance the state’s interests as enacted by parliament.
“Now the company, with its new home here, can confidently move forward from strength to strength in the performance of its mandate to help propel the nation’s will to prosperity.
“I have no doubt in my mind that this modern office facility shall shine as symbol of prosperity for PNG, through direct participation by Papua New Guineans in the mineral and hydrocarbon sectors.
“This will be the engine room for generating revenue flows from oil, gas and minerals developments that will be invested in nation-building efforts that bring more benefits to our people.”
The building was pre-fabricated in Indonesia to Petromin specifications, and delivered, with all furniture and fittings, in containers.
This includes the cost of land, design, materials, fittings, furniture, and security features.
The building is one of PNG’s first green buildings, and has many energy-saving features, including climate control, insulated roofing, and reflective glass panelling.
It is designed to save energy.
The building was designed to company specifications by a Jakarta-based firm, and was constructed over a period of 10 months.
It is earthquake-proof, and the structure is coated in a fireproof material that ensures that despite fire damage, the structure will remain intact.
All divisions and subsidiaries of the company are located within the building, except for the Tolokuma gold mine administration, which is still based at Waigani.
Petromin PNG Holdings Ltd is an independent company created by the state of PNG to hold the state's assets and to maximise indigenous ownership and revenue gains in the mineral and petroleum sectors.
It is empowered as the vehicle to better leverage the state's equity holdings and encourage more production and downstream processing of oil, gas and minerals in PNG through proactive investment strategies either wholly or in partnership with resource developers.