Consider sustainable agricultural practices

PAPUA New Guinea, in many prospects, is regarded as an agricultural nation.
Almost half of its population, those in rural areas, depend entirely on agriculture.
Appropriate and sustainable agricultural practices should be prioritised.
The rural areas constitute about 80 per cent of the country’s population, which places a strain on the ability to produce surplus amounts for the growing population.
According to the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, the population growth rate is at 2.8 per cent.
The Government should turn to the agriculture sector soon to sustain the growing population.
Not all land is suitable for cultivation.
Factors affecting the cultivation of crops and rearing of livestock include the rugged mountain terrains, water locked lands and infertile soils.
This is where sustainable agriculture comes in.
We should be able to sustain our needs without jeopardising ecological assets for the future generation.
The increased growth in population has widely affected the usage of land and forests.
Large portions of lands have been cultivated excessively and exhausted.
To address that, sustainable agricultural practices should be practiced to regenerate and maintain arable land for cultivation in the long run.
This may allow us to plan for the future.
Sustainable agricultural management practices are aimed at simultaneously maintaining and enhancing crop and livestock production without jeopardising the natural environment.

John Hoire