Minister says farmers deserve support

FARMERS engaging in downstream processing deserve support as the agriculture sector contributes between 20 and 23 per cent to the gross domestic product, says Agriculture and Livestock Minister John Simon.
Simon, during the launching of a coffee product from Goilala in Port Moresby on Thursday, said the Government needed to invest more in agriculture as land and labour were available but nurseries and management skills were lacking.
“If we invest more in this sector, we will not have a problem,” he said.
Simon also urged the commodity boards to have more extension officers in rural areas to work with local farmers.
They urged the National Development Bank to ensure that the K80 million loan allocated to the bank for farmers to loan should be farmer-friendly. Simon will also push to provide freight subsidy for coffee and cocoa farmers to transport their produce to the markets.