Cattle farmers complete training

BY PHILIP ORE’E
SIXTEEN cattle farmers in Eastern Highlands are now better equipped to expand their herds after completing a week’s training at Korofeigu farm last week.
Cattle farmers from Unggai-Bena, Lufa, Okapa, Goroka and Daulo districts attended the training at Korofeigu DPI training centre, outside Goroka town.
The training was hosted by livestock officers from the Department of Agriculture and Livestock in Goroka.
Participants commended the initiative, saying it was the first of kind in the province.
They vowed to implement what they had learnt.
Each participant has his or her own cattle project in their respective districts.
Most of the interested farmers are new to cattle farming and the information and skills learnt will be very helpful to them.
Project coordinator Faraho Fareho said the course was to train rural farmers to look after cattle yards properly.
Fareho said the liquefied natural gas projects and the mining sector were coming up strongly in PNG and the agriculture and livestock sector must improve and maintain productions to feed the people who would be working for the resource development sectors.
“We have a problem in producing more livestock in the country so that’s why we are experiencing a shortage in producing more beef for the country,” he said.
“In 1995 people bought cows from cattle ranches in Markham valley, Morobe, but now it is very difficult because there are not enough cows.”