Graziers query cattle money

A GROUP of cattle farmers from the Wampar Cattleman Association in the Huon district are not happy with Health Minister and Open Member for Huon Sasa Zibe and the division of Agriculture and Livestock.
Association chairman Martin Eris said the provincial and district agriculture and livestock divisions have set themselves out of the project.
“We want an urgent meeting with the Minister because we see that what they are doing is wrong,” he said.
“We want to know the whereabouts of K300,000 which was part of the K2.3 million cattle distribution programme funding,” he said.
According to Eris, K2 million under the agreement was meant for Zivasing Cattle Ranch while K300,000 was allocated to Wampar Cattleman Association through smallholders; however, they had not received that money.
He said smallholders from the association were asked to reserve land to plant oil palm however, Zivasing Cattle Ranch were the ones taken to see NDBL oil palm, and not the smallholders.
“Cattle are an important and big industry especially in the lowlands of the Markham plain, and in order to uplift this industry we need all the support we can get,” he said.
Secretary of the WCA Paul Goai had demanded that the Morobe agriculture and livestock divisions,all stakeholders and Zibe meet to address this.