Cattle farmers to stick to agreement

 By PISAI GUMAR

THE company involved in the public-private partnership programme to manage cattle in Wampar, Huon Gulf district of Morobe, says it is doing all it can to achieve the purpose of its agreement.

The Coastal Solutions Management (CSM) said at the weekend that it would not sway from its agreement to breed cattle for distribution to farms in Morobe and other provinces.

It admitted that there were “issues of rustling, slaughtering and selling of state cattle in Wampar farms”.

It was taking action to rectify the situation. 

“We are determined to weed out unproductive and problem elements in this programme to uphold the MoA,” a representative from CSM said.

It has already identified the rustlers and is now preparing to submit the information to police for charges to be laid.

CSM is involved in a 50-50 partnership deal with the farmers from Wampar in the Leron Plains to breed more than 4,000 cattle – sealed by an agreement signed at Ganef village last October.

Under the PPP, the state purchased the remaining 4,000 cattle herd at Markham Farms and distributed to the farmers

CSM would take full responsibility to oversee and manage the farmers in the breeding programme and provide quarterly reports back to the government.

In the MoA, 50% of the cattle belonged to the state. 

The other 50% would be divided equally.

Half of that will be kept by the signatories while the rest will be distributed to other farmers in Morobe and other provinces.

CSM said it had already spent more than K2 million to assist the small holder cattle farmers in improving the farms, stock yards, paying for drugs, chemicals and tools for the herds. 

Most ewes were already into their first droppings and expected to produce more of the expected results and on line agencies were urging to collaborate with CSM “to ensure the result of the programme does not remain in Markham valley alone but reaches other interested farmers to improve the cattle industry in the country”.