Rural informal sector vital

National, Normal
Source:

By SAMUEL RAITANO

TRANSPORTATION and efficient road network was a major factor that affected the growth of the rural informal sector.
This was highlighted by John Sowei, a researcher who presented the report on the rural informal sector at the National Research Institute (NRI) in Port Moresby last Thursday.
Sowei said the informal sector involved majority of the rural population and it was important that the road network and other transport systems supported the production and marketing of their products.
While the research was to identify the income generating activities through the informal sector, the main focus was also to produce recommendations on how best to improve the informal sector so that the livelihood of the population met the standard as anticipated in the Vision 2050, medium term development and long term development plans.
The main constraint in many of Papua New Guineas’ rural areas was the access to markets and most of the products from the rural informal sector were agricultural produces.
It was a challenge to the government to have the road networks in good condition and to have mechanisms in place to boost the market of rural products to consumers through out the country and ultimately to  overseas consumers.
Sowei stressed on four top training needs to build informal sector in terms of agriculture and these were:
* Diversified farming;
* Organic farming; 
* Agricultural techniques; and
* Management skills.
The four needs encompassed the potential for rural people and to identify what product they were capable of producing and what they needed to enhance in the production for a sustainable, healthy, wealthy and happy future.