By ANDREW ALPHONSE
THE failure by the National Government to adequately support the country’s agriculture sector over the years is a setback for many rural farmers in the country.
This is one of the main concerns raised by farmers and speakers during the World Food Day celebrations on Tuesday in Banz, Western Highlands province.
The celebrations supported by Fresh Produce Development Agency (FPDA) attracted a good number of farmers and corporate organisations like Highland’s tea and coffee producers W R Carpenters, National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) and Brian Bell Company, which also displayed their agricultural products, tools, machinery, seedlings and information pamphlets.
A non-governmental organisation, Community Based Health Care (CBHC), from the PNG Nazarene church health ministry also had a stall promoting sustainable healthy living in rural PNG communities while the Anglicare Stop AIDS seized the opportunity to launch their campaign against the killer disease.
The theme for the day was The Right to Food. From their food exhibition stall, FPDA extension farmers Mata Aipe and Roselyn Walep encouraged show goers to stop being lazy and work their land to produce food.
The two farmers are engaged by FPDA to train fellow farmers in their communities and family units on best farming methods including raising domesticated animals.
They said from their farm, they earn about K20,000 a year and use the proceeds to pay children’s school fees and meeting other domestic needs.
However, the two farmers said they still needed Government assistance in identifying commercial market infrastructure to sell their produce, adding that only when there are proper incentives for markets, people doing nothing can be engaged in agricultural activities.
North Waghi district administrator Michael Sapan encouraged people to eat locally grown food like vegetables.
However, he said lack of adequate funding for agriculture sector by the Government in its yearly national budget allocations was a major setback for farmers in the country.
FPDA also announced the establishments of a new sub depot at Banz to be constructed for farmers to store and sell their produce in bulk for the coastal markets.