Roads will raise farm productivity and boost growth, says Nali

A CABINET minister wants to see more agricultural activities take place to take advantage of the existing roads around the country.
Works and Implementation Minister Michael Nali was speaking during the inaugural agriculture summit in Port Moresby yesterday.
Nali said the Government was committed to providing infrastructure to assist the growth of agriculture.
He urged more participation from stakeholders in the agriculture sector to maximise opportunities provided by roads.
He said the lack of partnership resulted in missed opportunities for economic activities along existing road corridors.
“It is very expensive to build, maintain and rehabilitate roads in PNG. Yet there is no economic activity along most road networks,” he said.
“From now on, when the department wants to build roads, all stakeholders will be involved. We must work together.”
Nali said the department had financial constraints.
New road projects will be prioritised to benefit agricultural activities more.