Agriculture opening avenues

SUCCESS stories of local groups exporting harvests overseas shows some light at the end of the tunnel amid all the gloomy news of the Covid-19.
This week, we have news of Rumbia Coffee Exports, owned by the people of Eastern Highlands, sending its first 300 bags of green bean coffee to South Korea.
The 300 bags will earn the farmers more than K250,000.
Last month, Rigo Fisheries Development Corporation (RFDC) exported its first pallet of mud crabs to Singapore from which about K20,000 revenue is expected for each pallet exported.
The crabs will be exported fortnightly.
These and others not reported only emphasises the legend of toiling the land.
Papua New Guineans have worked the land for their subsistence over thousands of years.
The people who first inhabited the island of New Guinea developed methods to till and irrigate their soil and to live off the bounty while hunting and gathering was still the most common method of surviving for people in other parts of the world.
At independence the country had among its chief exports coffee, copra, cocoa and tea.
These cash crops were one of the first means for the people to make their own revenue and take part in the local economy.
The fishing industry is another area where the country gains revenue.
But in terms of having the most involvement by the people – agriculture and its related industries, is the obvious foundation on which this country’s economy should be based on.
The agriculture sector needs to have consistent and adequate funding so it attracts those who are currently unemployed in cities and towns to return home and work the land.
At the same time, government and industry need to conduct more research to gain a more nuanced understanding of consumer perceptions.
One cannot deny that agriculture small businesses are the backbone of growth in production, employment and innovation.
The majority of PNG’s population live in rural areas whose livelihood largely depend on subsistence agriculture.
Agriculture accounts for approximately a third of GDP in PNG in a sector that is dominated by smallholder farming systems.
The key to unlocking the potential of any crop is the availability of reliable road and market access facilities and the willpower.
PNG has a poorly developed road network.
For a country that boasts an abundance of natural resources, the translation to better infrastructure has not been evident.
The extremely mountainous terrain of the country is such that land slips and slides are practically common occurrences.
Agriculture and Livestock Minister John Simon told Parliament this week that there was no freight subsidy allocated in the 2020 national budget to assist farmers.
It is no use telling growers to rehabilitate their gardens when there is no easy market avenue for them to sell.
Agriculture has been at the center of recent economic progress for many developing nations.
Most governments are taking concrete actions to address the problem and there is a clear recognition of strengthening the agriculture system in a manner that brings more affordable and diverse options for everyone.
If Rumbia Coffee Exports and the Rigo Fisheries Development Corporation can send their exports, so can others.
The potential in this sector is there, we just need to give it the right portion of coercing and it will not fail with its return on investment.