Interest in agro sector down
AGRICULTURE provides the principle source of livelihood for 85% of the population.
This situation will remain unchanged for the immediate future and will gain in prominence as mining and petroleum sector developments mature and dwindle.
Despite this fact, all is not well on the agriculture front. Private sector investment in plantation and agriculture has plummeted.
The use of essential farm inputs has declined.
Plantations face a major debt burden and precarious equity problem with liabilities greatly exceeding assets.
Investment in the related aqua-culture is nil although the potential for the development of this sector for a nation rich in rivers and where all provinces except five have maritime boundaries.
Agriculture and marine business will continue to be the mainstay of the economy beyond the minerals and petroleum boom.
Investment in these sectors is not only essential, it is crucial for the survival of the economy and in order to feed the burgeoning population now predicted to reach 10 million by 2050.
Production of copra and cocoa has almost ceased and the few diehards in these tree crop production need millions to help them out of spiraling debt positions.
Coffee production is also stagnant and much of the plantation sector is either in private hands or returned to bush.
Only oil palm, a late entrant in the cash crop sector in PNG, has shown much promise and continues to grow in production, prominence and it brings foreign exchange into the country.
The unique method of production this cash crop has introduced in the country such as at New Britain Palm Oil ought to be trialled with other cash crops.
Other crops which have shown promise such as with pyrethrum, spices and vanilla have not really taken off in the country as they should have.
Livestock production has never quite taken off despite a healthy consumer demand for PNG poultry, piggery and cattle products.
There needs to be more companies like New Britain Palm Oil and the Ramu Food Company.
The latter started with sugar production in the country and has now gone into cattle and oil palm in a very big way with promises to enter into peanut farming as well.
The problem has not been lack of will but lack of financial support and sustained support at that.
Successive government since independence paid lip service to this important sector but none have really tried to develop a sustained agriculture policy.
This Somare administration, now entering its second five-year cycle, has promised a number of measures in agriculture under its Green Revolution structure but the first five years yielded little from the series of measures announced although the Rural Development Bank has been restructured. It is hoped the second term will be more productive for agriculture.
The Rural Development Bank should be able to ensure that rural credit requirements are more adequately met to inject into commercially viable projects by creating a fundamental role in encouraging the participation of small farmer and traditional landowners in commercial agriculture.
Freeing up customary land for major agriculture enterprises has been another impediment to the development of agriculture.
With the Deputy Prime Minister Dr Puka Temu’s sustained efforts at land reform, it is hoped that a policy will emerge which will be conducive to agriculture development.
I remember many major food and cash crop companies from overseas showed a lot of interest in developing major agri-business in the country.
But discussions were never concluded because of the land element.
Any major development in land reform will no doubt impact agriculture development in a major way in PNG.
Revitalising the sector will have ripple effects throughout the economy.
It has the potential to become the biggest employer of PNG’s dormant unskilled work force.
High quality research such as that being spearheaded by the National Agriculture Research Institute will ensure the right technologies are utilised so as to reduce the input costs and create output.
Structural constraints in the farming sector should be removed and that should lower production costs and enhance competitiveness.
Diversification such as is happening at Ramu and downstream processing of agricultural produce should be encouraged to add value and add new products.
Obviously, transport infrastructure will need to be improved to improve access and encourage inter-cropping and agro-forestry.
Emphasis ought to be placed on development of grain, rice, flour and livestock industries as they have the potential to make PNG self sufficient in food production as well as for export.
Perhaps a body ought to be created to take charge of rice, grain and food crop production.
The tariff system will need to be looked at to offer incentives and lower the cost of agricultural inputs.
These are doable suggestions and by no means exhaustive.
Much more can be done and I am certain all manner of suggestions have been made over the years.
It is time those suggestions came off the shelves where they have lain collecting dust and for them to be implemented.
That will take a lot of commitment and it will mean a very strong executive team at the Department of Agriculture and Livestock and a committed political head.
The type of politicking that we have seen at the Agriculture Department in recent years are singularly detrimental to the sustained development of this crucial sector.
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