Machinery, transport and marketing barriers for farmers

By JIMMY KALEBE
MACHINERY, transport and marketing are the main concerns of Morobe farmers raised during a meeting at National Agriculture Research Institute (Nari) in Lae on Friday.
The meeting involved farmers from Bulolo, Huon Gulf, Lae and Nawaeb districts who have been trained under the farmer training cooperation project since 2014.
The project is funded by Taiwan Technical Mission and jointly implemented by the Department of Agriculture and Livestock, Nari and Morobe government.
The farmers attended the meeting to share success stories, information and ideas on the project since its commissioning.
Farmer Nancy Yalamu, from Gurakor village in Mumeng, Bulolo, said these three main areas of concern had put a lot of strain on farmers.
“It is a very effective project by Taiwan Technical Mission, which has over the years supported farmers in terms of training and support in producing quality food crops for marketing and family consumption,” she said.
Yalamu said if these three areas could be improved on, the project would be a success story for the farmers in Morobe. She called on the local level, provincial and national governments to seriously assist as the Taiwanese initiative was trying to address the food security issues faced in the country.
Department of Agriculture and Livestock regional marketing adviser and project coordinator Norbert A’o said the three problems could be addressed through public-private partnerships.
The project was launched in Central and Morobe province to target markets in Port Moresby and Lae
Since the project was launched in 2015, 15 training sessions have been conducted.
Some of the farmers attending the trainings are very active in producing fresh garden food for sale.
A’o said there was the possibility of expanding the project to other provinces in the country, but that can only come about through the availability of markets.
Taiwan Technical Mission agriculture specialist Eric Yi-Chung Huang, said the six-year project would end in 2020.
He said 2600 farmers from the four selected districts of Morobe had been trained.
“This project is focused and generated towards targeting small-scale farmers back in the villages,” he said.