By PETER MOOROWER
MAJOR agricultural policies in PNG in the past 20 years, including the National Food Security Policy, the National Agricultural Development Strategy and the Green Revolution, have not achieved the desired results.
The failure is probably due to weak governance and external factors.
While the more recent National Agricultural Development Plan (NADP) is commendable, it is neither a panacea nor antidote.
It has yet to translate intended strategies into results.
Some questions need to be asked.
Have the stagnant policies been appropriately reviewed and redefined to be implemented as per the NADP?
Was the NADP derived through a proper analysis?
Have the institutional bottlenecks been properly reformed to facilitate the plan?
Were the wide-range of risks considered?
These questions are not intended to undermine the technicalities and professional inputs into the NADP – they are the result of a lack of public knowledge on the White Paper on agriculture (1996-2012).
Furthermore, any development plan needs to be accompanied by an implementing strategy that is realistic and doable with provision of resources. In particular, it should complement policies and the overall MTDS.
The fruit and vegetable policy, since its inception in the late 1980s and despite continuous funding from within and abroad, is struggling to make improve production and marketing capacities.
Commodity boards of the tree crops tend to have exclusive management power and have been running the industries with self-interests and little regard for the farmers and the industries’ future and expansion.
For instance, since the coffee industry began, PNG has been exporting about a million green bean bags (less than 1% of the world supply). Why are we not exporting more?
In addition, if there ever existed a growers fund/stabilisation fund or something similar, why are the contributors (farmers) denied excess to knowledge or the current status of accounts?
Agriculture research in the country tends to be more subjective than objective to the needs of the farmers.
By what magnitude have the farmers benefitted from the generation and diffusion of the agricultural technologies so far?
I would say an insignificant number and they are most likely to be living around the research station.
What about farmers in places like Karimui, Kaintiba, Kandep, etc?
Lending for smallholder agriculture has declined in the last two decades, mostly because of the risks involved, leaving farmers to fend for themselves.
Despite its lending ability, the National Development Bank (NDB) was still given the responsibility of administering a K100 million allocation under its existing lending policies.
This bank has changed its name several times but has it been structurally reformed to meet development needs?
Where is the bank heading to now? The issue is not the availability of credit facilities but how best to make the capital available to farmers, given the circumstances.
After a vibrant start, the Livestock Development Corporation (LDC) has struggled for sometime and the country continues to import lamb, beef and dairy products.
Do we not have the comparative advantages?
The extension services of the DAL are almost non-existent even though it maintains officers nationwide at a huge cost at taxpayers’ expense.
Despite the fact that more than 80% of our six million population are living in the rural areas, agriculture accounts for only about 32% of the GDP.
Further, a Food and Agriculture Organisation report stated that 29% of the population is still food insecure
and the nutritional status of women is marginally lower than that of men.
It is a shame when our country has so much land, a suitable climate and surplus labour to be food-deficient.
Agriculture is a very fragile industry and despite the farmers’ entrepreneurial behaviour, government intervention is needed in almost every aspect as is the case in almost every developing country.
I therefore appeal to the Agriculture Minister and the Government to consider the following:
1. Establish a “National Commodity Council” by merging the three boards responsible for coffee, cocoa, coconut and oil palm but with a smaller representation, thereby cutting costs and enhancing marketing efforts.
2. Remove barriers to allow for free competition and maximum participation from farmers, either individually or cooperatively. The current conditions favour the few established and well-off ones and are conducive to corruption;
3. Establish a “National Research Council” by again merging public and quasi-public agricultural institutions such as NARI, CRI, CCRI, OPRA and others. This will ensure coordination, collaborative and objective research, avoid duplication and reduce high overhead and unnecessary costs;
4. Enact a law on “agricultural loss compensation” (similar to that of Japan) and establish an agricultural, insurance scheme under it. Agricultural insurance as a risk management strategy may prompt agricultural lending and address welfare concerns by stabilising and/or increase agricultural GDP. An arrangement among the NDB, commercial banks and insurance companies may be useful as it will ensure that no farmer who is not a borrower will participate as is the case in India because insurance provides defence against moral hazard and adverse selection.
5. Ensure attractive prices to encourage higher investment and production, perhaps by establishing an “Agriculture Price Commission” which will take into account cost of production, changes in world prices, trends, inter-crop price parity, demand and supply situation, terms of trade, etc;
6. Look into the possibility of using the Yonki Dam in Eastern Highlands to irrigate our food bowl, the Markham Valley, for the production of cereal and grain crops to reduce our food import bill.
PNG is facing problems similar to those in India but the latter is progressing well with its five-year plans, especially in the agricultural sector which has led to phenomenal growth.
PNG should start drawing from India’s experience.

Note: The writer is an agricultural development economist and was an adviser to the Fresh Produce Development Agency in Goroka until his resignation to contest in this year’s general election. He has Masters degree from the University of Reading in the UK.