MP: Boost agriculture projects

TO take back PNG, one must go back to the district, local level governments (LLGs), wards and families by empowering them with the programmes that will boost their economic independence, Kokopo MP Emil Tammur says.
Tammur made the remarks during a cheque presentation to cocoa nursery owners in the district at the Kokopo headquarters in Bitapaka yesterday.
He said in order to build a better society, the lives of each family needed to change first.
He said cocoa and coconut development programmes would boost the local economy at the ward level so that families had money in their pockets.
Tammur said the Kokopo development authority (DDA) board’s priority was to fully support the agriculture development programmes in the district.
“Agriculture and farming is where the bulk of the population back in the ward levels are heavily involved in, therefore, our focus is to support the programmes that can help change our people’s livelihoods,” he said.
At the presentation, Tammur told cocoa nursery owners that they were the ones who implemented the agriculture programmes which the development authority board had planned for.
Tammur said the partnership between the cocoa nursery owners and the Kokopo DDA board and administration started in 2015 and continued to last year but stopped last year due to the impact of the Covid-19.
He said the funds the DDA held for running programmes were redirected to address the Covid-19 pandemic and preparation in the district.
“We took the funds from these programmes to support our family members from the six wards in the Raluana LLG who were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic early last year, that is why most of the payments were delayed,” he said.
Tammur thanked officer in charge of the Kokopo rural development office Joan Magaga and her team for helping to drive the programmes through technical advice and support to farmers.
“We wouldn’t have come this far if not for the partnerships between all stakeholders,” he said.