World food body opens office here

 THE United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has opened an office in the country.
Minister for Ag­­riculture and Livestock Tommy Tomscoll, pictured,  welcomed Papua New Guinea programme de­velopment officer Ken Shimizu, who will run the office.
He said the organisation had been providing technical help in the areas of food and agriculture, nutrition, fisheries and forestry.
He said that had enhanced PNG’s capacity in terms of production and an increase in revenues from sales on international markets.
“The challenge for this office is not increasing the GDP but distributing it, so that our people can inclusively benefit, share and contribute in these developments,” he said.
Tomscoll said the country had one of the highest average GDPs in the world because of the mineral and gas boom. But agriculture, fisheries and forestry still remained important because 85 per cent of the population depend on them for survival, he  said.
Shimizu said issues faced by PNG in agriculture were very much relevant to the work of FAO.
He said he hoped they could support the Government in promoting agriculture and rural development.
“The current FAO National Medium Term Priority Framework for PNG 2010-2014 has three priority areas – strengthening policies and institutions, enhancing marketing and trade and promoting sustainable resource management,” he said.