Livestock corporation aims to boost meat production

By DYLAN MURRAY
THE Livestock Development Corporation aims to have the country become self-reliant in meat production by next year, according to managing director Terry Koim.
“The LDC will set up policy and legislation to drive this,” he said.
He said the country currently imported meat products to the value of between K450 million and K500 million.
“Last year’s record exceeded K500 million,” he said.
“On the back of the policy we will formulate legislation that will capture the institutional arrangements of the new regulatory authority which the LDC is transitioning to become.”
He said LDC needed to become a regulatory body to protect large and small businesses in the sector.
Koim explained that when the departments of livestock and agriculture were separated after General Election 2022, the LDC was made the ministry’s administrative arm.
“That’s why we need to make the LDC a regulatory authority,” he said.
“There is no law to control and regulate the (livestock) industry.”
He said the authority would then monitor players in the sector such as Ilimo, Zenag Chicken and Niugini Tablebirds which were poultry and dairy operations.
He added that the Department of Personnel Management had already approved a restructure of the LDC to become a regulatory authority.
Livestock Minister Sekie Agisa said his priority was developing a policy for the LDC in order for it to function and implement the Government’s directives.
“We have to have a policy in place before we start rolling out most of our programmes,” Agisa said.