Potential to be the regional food bowl

I APPLAUD the Somare Government for promising to allocate K10 million to each district in the 2008 budget to help develop roads and bridges, health, education, law and order, and other sectors.
I would hope that politicians remember to include telecommunications by developing mobile phone networks in their respective electorate via competitive bids.
Relaying information on a timely basis is crucial for the development of any industry and hence the complimentary role of telecommunications is crucial.
The Government has placed its priority in the right place to develop the rural sector of Papua New Guinea by allocating more funding than previous governments.
This is a Government that has heard the cries of the people by going that extra mile to serve the majority of citizens living on less than US$1 a day by making basic services available to them.
I now call upon government departments and agencies to promote timely and efficient delivery of services.
Corruption and nepotism must stop in the bureaucracy for the good of public welfare.
Key departments such as the Office of Rural Development must promote professionalism, accountability, timely and efficient delivery of services so that no Member of Parliament may be left out on delivering within the first six months deadline of 2008.
Previous Parliaments were less funded and incapable to achieving rural development significantly on an annual basis.
Besides the accountability and integrity of politicians’ project costing, we can all appreciate the fact that the government bureaucracy has a vital role in ensuring the efficient delivery of basic services to the bulk of the rural people.
PNG seems to focus more on social and physical infrastructure such as hospitals, roads, bridges, policing, etc, and I have no objections to this as they are basic human needs and services.
However, it is high time for the Government to promote the development of primary industry.
I understand that setting up a factory costs millions of kina.
It is beyond a politician’s annual budget when we account for the cost of machinery, procurement, training and foreign consultancy to promote long-term market relationships between local exporters and foreign importers.
However, I have a dream that the incomes of rural farmers will be raised 100% and greater employment of local youths can result by mobilising land resources and utilising innovations and technologies at hand for the efficient development of an agriculture industry.
Take for instance, the monetary value of kaukau or sweet potato in a local restaurant of the second biggest consumer and economy in the world, Japan.
I have observed some local restaurants in Japan for selling five thin slices of kaukau for K15 when a whole kaukau would only cost a mere K1.
Imagine what a medium sized factory can generate for a population of 20,000 plus people in PNG. Engaging a Japanese contractor to establish factories and plantations can encourage higher output, quality and marketability, and hence, phenomenal economic growth.
Considering our comparatively low population and abundance of land space, PNG has the potential to be the hub of agriculture and aquaculture in the Asia Pacific rim.
The Ministry of National Planning and Rural Development should now coordinate its policy efforts to ensure that fiscal budgetary resources combined with bilateral and multilateral aid sources are coordinated to promote long term development of factories and plantations in strategic locations throughout PNG.
Inviting Japanese consultants and trainers to introduce technologies, and efficient, eco-friendly means to enhance agricultural output in the long term is prudent rather than the short-term, exploitative and capitalist ideals of Western or Chinese entrepreneurship.
Establishing pyrethrum, kaukau, tea, coffee or tuna factories by engaging Japanese contractors would go a long way in enhancing income, employment, maintaining markets and creating deeper pockets for rural farmers so that they can in turn afford health, education and other essential services.
PNG currently exports 60,000 tonnes of coffee per annum and that accounts for only 1% of the world coffee market.
Imagine how much revenue one factory could generate by producing tonnes of kaukau and taro.
I have a dream! Wonder if it would ever be realised.

Stephen Kapus Kikala
Tokyo, Japan