Household survey focusing on income generation in district

A HOUSEHOLD baseline survey focusing on income generation levels of people in Markham, Morobe, is underway this week.
The survey will see the four main rural markets in the district – Watarais, Umi, Leron and Mutzing – targeted for information gathering.
The survey will look at extracting information on people and farmers who are engaged in farming and selling garden food.
The aim of the survey is to compile data which would assist in building partnerships between farmers, private and government sectors to effectively develop agriculture in the district.
The project is between Grow PNG, Morobe deputy governor Willie Simbisi and Markham students and staff association at the PNG University of Technology.
Grow PNG engaged the staff and students association to conduct the week-long survey that started yesterday.
Simbisi, who is also the president for Onga-Waffa local level government in Markham, is supporting the survey with transportation.
“It is vital to have access to information or data that could help in improving and providing services for the people, especially in the agriculture sector,” he said.
Survey team leader and chief technical officer with the agriculture department at Unitech, Timothy Bafiec, said the association members appreciated the opportunity to conduct the survey.
“It gives the students and staff exposure on executing applied research in the rural farming communities in Markham,” he said.