Focus on agriculture for next 10yrs, party says

National

COUNTRY Party president Nelson Duwabane says the Government and Papua New Guineans must focus their attention on growing the country’s agriculture and business sectors for the next 10 years instead of just 2020.
“We must look beyond the New Year and focus on the next decade of growth initiatives and opportunities,” he said.
“We must reflect on the challenges to improve our standard of living, and the importance of a strong regional and rural voice.”
Duwabane said it was important to consider the risks on placing too much emphasis on social and welfare policies, and recreational infrastructure that could not generate wealth to underpin the economy and support social programmes.
“As we move towards the mid-term of election 2017, we must express confidence that the economy is growing, more employment and income earning opportunities are created and we should provide figures with clarity and certainty,” he said.
Duwabane said the Government must provide the much needed and direct investments into agriculture and small-medium enterprises to make the rural areas more attractive so that the majority of Papua New Guineans had access to real Government services.
“In 2020, Country Party will continue to advocate for strong grassroots to benefit across PNG,” he said.
“We will continue to provide a voice to our financial members, voters and supporters and those farming and rural industries.”