Committee considers proposal for cattle quarantine facilities

THE Central Agency Coordinating Committee (CACC) will consider a proposal to have three quarantine facilities for cattle brought from overseas for breeding purposes.
Agriculture and Livestock Minister John Simon said the department had to give the proposal the nod before it was submitted to the National Executive Council for approval.
“Once this submission is approved by the NEC, we will start building the facilities,” he said.
“One will be built in Port Moresby, one in Lae and the other in Wewak.”
Wewak is close to overseas markets in the northern hemisphere and that is why it was chosen.
“I brought some cattle to Maprik lately,” Simon said.
“The farm there will be used by the Livestock Development Corporation (LDC) for breeding to supply farms in East and West Sepik.”
It should revive the industry in the Sepik provinces.
Simon said the Wewak’s abattoir decommissioned years ago would be revived by the LDC.
“This will mean that the Urimo cattle ranch, Sepik Plains, has to be revived,” he said. “I am in talks with the landowners there.”
He rated the Sepik Plains as good for cattle farming and rice farming.
Simon plans to meet rice importers to advise them on setting quotas.
It is to make sure that they import only a certain percentage while 20 per cent should be grown locally.
With the State not having enough land to grow rice, it is expected that the rice importers have to work with landowners to grow rice so that they meet the 20 per cent.