Aust to strengthen PNG’s agricultural biosecurity

By PETER ESILA
AUSTRALIA is looking at funding options to strengthen Papua New Guinea’s agricultural biosecurity arrangements to increase exports to Australia.
Australian assistant minister for Trade and Investment Mark Coulton had a brief meeting with PNG officials on agricultural issues in Port Moresby yesterday.
He held the meeting in the Pacifika Women’s Network Centre where some women sold their products.
“We talked about a few things, but largely about some of the impediments to exports so buyer security, traceability of agricultural products and produce,” Coulton said.
“I offered on behalf of the Australian government, funding to go towards arrangements between our Department of Agriculture and PNG’s.
“There is a focus or a refocus on the importance of agriculture in PNG and I understand that, I was a farmer for over 30 years. I understand agriculture, I love agriculture, other industries will come and go but the world will always need agriculture.”
Coulton said PNG was ideally placed and with fertile soil, high rainfall, it was not only just Australia that was close to the market but the Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) region which was one of the fastest developing areas economically in the world.
“Countries like Vietnam, Thailand they are growing at very impressive rates and so there are opportunities in this region for an expanding middle class who want high quality produce.
“The challenge, I believe, for the farmers in PNG is to be able to present those produce so that consumers know where it is coming from, they know that it is safe.
“I understand most of the food that’s grown in PNG is organic, so just things like a framework to set as a certification so that a consumer can have comfort in what they buy.”