Accountability within the agriculture sector

By MALUM NALU
Accountability, or rather the lack of it, remains a festering sore within the agriculture sector of this country.
Millions of kina have been squandered in recent times by those claiming to work for the betterment of agriculture and the long-suffering farmers.
One of the most infamous of these has been the National Agriculture Development Plan (NADP), where millions were stolen by “paper farmers” around the 2009-2010 period.
It has all been swept under the carpet by past and present governments.
Who received the money?
How much did they receive?
Was the money used on agriculture projects?
Why hasn’t criminal action been taken against them?
These questions have never been answered.
Agriculture agencies and commodity boards – including Coffee Industry Corporation, Cocoa Board and National Agriculture Quarantine Inspection Authority – are now under scrutiny following the recent release of the 2016 Auditor-General’s Report.
Millions of kina have not been accounted for,
Treasurer Charles Abel, when handing down the 2018 Budget last November, announced that agriculture would be the major focus with increased funding.
The million kina question is, “Will the money be used for its rightful purposes?”
Last month, while in Goroka, I attended the release of Fresh Produce Development Agency’s 2016 annual report.
The FPDA, those in agriculture and Government know, is the best-managed and most-accountable and transparent organisation within the sector
General-manager Mark Worinu says the agency has always been up-to-date in producing its annual technical and financial statements.
It has never had audit problems as this is done by a major accounting firm.
The FPDA report was launched by Vice-Minister for Agriculture and Livestock and Goroka MP Henry Ame.
“The report is the most-significant part of our work,” Worinu said.
“Our shareholders, Department of Agriculture and Livestock and Treasury, must know what we are doing.
“It’s important as at this time the Government is expecting all the agencies to show the trail of expenditure.
“In our own little way, we want to be accountable, we want to be transparent, and we want to demonstrate in our own little way that we are committed.
“We have been doing that (annual report) for a good number of years as a formal document to the shareholders.
“That’s the kind of approach that we have been taking.”
The report is broken into two parts: Technical and audit.
Worinu said village extension services was FPDA’s highlight for 2016 “and delivering remarkable results”.
“These are model farmers that we are establishing in different pockets of the country,” he said
“All in all we are committing ourselves to supporting the Government’s policies in terms of building capacity for our small people, participating meaningfully in developing SMEs, and being able to participate in a challenging environment.
“In a nutshell, we established 46 village extension workers and 51 model farms all around the country.
“Our mentoring, coaching and technical advisory services have produced 5000 of those people.
“We were able to develop 31 SMEs, people who are able to take farming as a business, growing and selling.”
Worinu said FPDA was very proud of being able to properly plan and report its activities.
“That’s our strength: We are able to report to our shareholders and stakeholders, Government and development partners that we are able to plan properly,” he said.
Worinu commended New Zealand and Australia for their ongoing support to FPDA.
He also announced that International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries, was also interested in supporting FPDA.
Ame has commended FPDA for setting the trend for other agriculture agencies and boards in terms of accountability.
Ame, who has been in the coffee business and was a member of the Coffee Industry Corporation board before becoming an MP, said he was very familiar with agriculture, and it was a blessing to have been made vice-minister to Ungai-Bena MP Benny, Allan who is minister.
“I commend the FPDA for producing the annual report,” he said.
“In other sectors it takes so much time and there are delays.
“For FPDA to come up with this report in just a year is commendable.
“I commend the FPDA staff and management for the effort that they have put in to produce the annual report.
“We are looking after public funds.
“It’s best that you produce reports like this to show stakeholders, Government agencies and other commodities that you are accountable for these public funds put in your care.
“It is good to see at least one agency in this sector doing the right thing.
“I wish to encourage commodity boards to do the same and lift the performance of each agriculture sector.”
Ame, who is Goroka MP, also commended FPDA for setting up an impressive K12 million three-storey office complex in the heart of the Eastern Highlands capital.
“Being in my town, and my district, it gives me joy and pride to see the building under construction,” he said.
“Once it is completed, that should transform the place, and give a new outlook to the town and the province itself.”
Ame challenged the FPDA board and management to have a clear vision and “workable plans which I’m sure you already have with the annual report being produced”.
“Fresh Produce Development Agency, unlike other commodity boards, is very unique, meaning that it touches the lives of people,” he said.
“It provides steady revenue unlike coffee, cocoa or coconut in terms of putting money into the pockets of farmers.”
The onus is now on agriculture to deliver the goods in 2018 to the people who really matter – the farmers.