Weather info vital for agriculture

QUALITY weather information has the potential to boost agriculture in Papua New Guinea as has been the case for other regional economies, says National Weather Services director Samuel Maiha.
He told The National an example of this was Chinese Taipei, which had increased its agricultural production by 30 per cent in only a few years by focusing on providing information to farmers.
He said this at the conclusion of the Apec climate symposium yesterday.
“There is information being given out by National Weather Service but our people are not using it as much as they can to better their lives,” Maiha said.
“The information we have on rain, droughts or temperature is there.
“The gaps are in getting it to our people for them to use, not only in agriculture but also for fisheries, forestry and other sectors.
“These are economic issues as at the end of the day, it is about making the most of information to get the maximum output.”