Department of Agriculture and Livestock, Central Government Office (CGO), Level 2B. Kumul Avenue, WAIGANI.

Minister’s Christmas Message 2017 The Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Honora-ble Benny Allan, has wished the man-agement and staff of DAL, the Commod-ity Boards and Agencies, and farm-ers and their fami-lies throughout PNG, a Merry Christmas and Pros-perous New Year 2018.

At his final press conference for the year on the 19th De-cember, Minister Allan, on behalf of his Ministerial staff

and people of Unggai-Bena Electorate, thanked everyone in the agriculture sector for their co-operation and support in the Government’s efforts in promoting agriculture de-velopment.

Minister Allan urged everyone, including the stakeholders and partners, to support the Ministry and DAL in working together to transform agriculture to greater heights that will bring positive changes to the people’s livelihood and to the national economy as a whole.

He said there were “exciting times” ahead for the Department, the agriculture sector and the nation because of the O’Neill Government’s focus on agriculture which has been confirmed through very generous increases in the 2018 budget funding in almost all areas of the sector.

The Minister urged the management and staff of the Department, boards and agencies to lift their game and rise up to meet the expectations of Government and bring PNG to new level of prosperity starting from 2018.

He called for greater partnership between the Government, the industry, in-cluding the small farmers, and donor agencies, as was recently forged in the inau-gural Annual Agriculture Summit held three weeks ago.

Minister Allan wished everyone, including the media in PNG, to enjoy Christ-mas in a true spirit and harmony, and to set new goals to achieve in the New Year that will bring prosperity and benefits to themselves and their families.

Minister for Agriculture & Livestock, Hon. Benny Allan, (center), at the press conference, on the right is DAL Secretary, Dr Vele Pat IIa’ava, & on the left is First Secretary, Jarvie Abijah. Minister’s Christmas Message 1

Editorial 2 Work together to produce results: Minister 2 PNG prepares to host lead up meetings to APEC 2018 3 Cocoa and coffee exporter supports farmers with information system 3 Usim Graun—NBC Rural Agricultural Radio Program 4 Agricultural graduands told to have right Attitude and moral standards 4,5 Highlands Agricultural College moves to DHERST 5 National Food Secretary and Agriculture Cluster has a new coordinator 6 Agriculture Farmers Improvise to Improve Honey Production 6,7 DAL officers learn more about China’s Development plans 7,8 Fire Burns Down DAL Institutional House At Moitaka 8 Food safety a global issue 9 DAL Website 9 China keen to promote large scale Commercial mushroom production 10 Agriculture workers told to improve work... 10 DAL staff told to embrace God in their work 11 Public Announcement: Christmas and New Year Shutdown Period—2017/18 11 Condolence Message: Late Steward Jimmy 12

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

The agriculture sector, particularly coffee, has been neglected overtime by successive governments and we must bring back confidence with the support from the current government.

Agriculture and Livestock Minster Hon. Benny Allan said this on his official visit to the PNG coffee industry corporation headquarters in Goroka on

Thursday Novem-ber 9th, 2017.

The Minister was accompanied by the Vice-DAL Minster Hon. Henry Ame and DAL Sec-retary Dr Vele Pat lla’ava.

An official pro-gram in welcoming the Minister on his first visit to the or-ganisation was con-vened before a meeting with the CIC board and management.

Minister Allan said under the Alotau Accord II, the O’Neill/Abel government is pri-oritising agriculture as its focus going forward.

He challenged the board, manage-ment and staff of CIC to put farmers first in every pro-grams and initia-

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AI & PB Going to great lengths to provide Information

Work together to produce results: Minister

EDITORIAL Welcome readers to the final edition of the Agriculture Nius for 2017. We try our best to keep you informed, and hope you have enjoyed our newsletters during the year. On behalf of my staff and editorial team, I take this opportunity to wish each and everyone of you, a Merry Christ-mas, and Prosperous New year 2018. Celebrate your Christ-mas/New Year peacefully and use this time to reflect on your con-tribution to DAL and agriculture sector and look at positive chang-es in the future. Happy reading! Agriculture Nius is produced by the Public Relations and Media Unit and the Information and Publications Branch of the De-partment of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL). Managing Editor : Nicks Maniha Editor : Busisi Siwaka Contributor : Soldier Buruka Layout & Design:Jackson Kaumana Distribution: Kari Hira Contributions: DAL Staff and Sector Agencies. Contributions to be sent to: The Editor Agriculture Nius, P.O. Box 2033,

tives that were being undertaken.

“You are not working in this organisation be-cause you want employment but you have a duty to play for the best interest of rural farmers.”

“Programs and projects must produce results. We must step up.”

He reiterated that all should work together so that in the next five years, there should be a story to tell on how all have contributed in changing a farmer’s life.

He said the government was fully aware of the contribution of coffee industry as well as the hard-ships it faced. He said coffee contributes to the for-eign exchange, employment and income, support of gross domestic products, social welfare and stability in communities, and providing food security.

He highlighted that income from coffee feeds into other sectors and acts as a social security net. Our people use this to meet other social and eco-nomic obligations.

“Alotau Accord II gives more focus towards in-creasing revenue base for the country by giving pri-ority to key drivers of key renewable and resource sub sectors.”

CIC CEO Charles Dambui in congratulating the Ministers on their appointment welcomed their sup-port to the coffee industry.

He acknowledged the government for making available K5 million for coffee berry borer. He add-ed that his management was pleased to see that the government has refocused to put money into a sec-tor that will generate revenue for the country’s econ-omy.

Mr Dambui added that coffee over the last five years generated over K3 billion into the economy and it was important to re- strategize so that farmers get more into their pockets.

Minster Benny Allan is officially welcomed at the CIC Headquarters in Goroka.

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AI & PB Going to great lengths to provide Information

Outspan PNG Ltd is one of the leading exporters of PNG cocoa and also exports coffee.

The company has a strong presence in East New Britain, Madang, Morobe, East Sepik and Bougain-ville as well as the highlands region. It currently has over 8,000 farmers linked through sustainability programs.

The company officials told the agriculture sum-mit of the SME and farmer interventions through digitization.

They mentioned the need for linking to the farm-ers directly, opening account for farmers and suppli-ers for transparent and safe transaction. They also spoke on mobile banking availability. That is ac-ceptability of mobile banking amongst small retail-

ers/village markets – critical for the shift.

There should be a safe payment system. Reliable tech infrastructure a foolproof payment for the cus-tomer.

The company has commenced a pilot project in the Markham Valley of Morobe Province to trial out the digitization process. Through the Olam Farmer Information System (OFIS) by using the GIS cocoa farmers can be mapped. This will enable the compa-ny to get complete farmer level information and work with the farmer very closely. Farmers would also be able to get the market related information and can also be linked to the banking system.

Similar project has been started in West Africa and Indonesia and the results are very promising.

Cocoa and Coffee exporter supports farmers with information system

PNG prepares to host lead up meetings to APEC 2018

PNG will be hosting about 200 meetings for APEC 2018.

The meetings for all organizations and stakehold-ers will culminate in the Leaders’ Summit on 18 November, 2018, where Presidents and Prime Min-isters of the 21 APEC economies (countries) will meet in Port Moresby for the final APEC Meeting.

PNG’s APEC 2018 theme is “Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future”.

The theme takes into account the current global economic conditions and regional undertakings, in-cluding the post-Bogor discussions, and PNG’s in-tra-regional and domestic development challenges and priorities.

PNG, through the theme, is providing APEC with an opportunity, to strategically work on growth, inclusivity, and sustainability, while at the same time, embrace critical opportunities in the dig-ital economy. It is saying that in order for PNG to remain open for business, we need to think and em-brace technology and the internet.

The theme encompasses the advancement of APEC’s collective work on the Leaders’ Growth Strategy (2010) and the Connectivity Blueprint (2014). This brings to the fore, discussions on the digital age, and APEC beyond 2020 can work to-wards embracing it, while ensuring that the opportu-nities in the region are balanced, equal, and inclu-sive, for all who live in it.

PNG’s policy priorities are; priority 1 – Improv-ing Connectivity, Deepening Regional Economic Integration. Priority 2 – Promoting Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. Priority 3 – Strengthening Inclu-

sive Growth through Structural Reform.”

The food security and agriculture priorities are captured in priority 2.

The first of the 200 meetings, Informal Senior Officials Meeting (ISOM) was held from 5-6 De-cember, 2017, in Port Moresby.

APEC Meetings for 2018 comprise of four com-ponents. Senior Officials Meetings (SOM1) to be held from 24 February – 9 March, 2018. Senior Of-ficials Meeting (SOM2) 11-24 May, 2018. Senior Officials Meeting (SOM3) 4-20 August, 2018. Leaders Week 12-18 November, 2018.

The agriculture meetings that will occur in APEC 2018 are Policy Partnerships on Food Security (PPFS), Agricultural Technical Cooperation Work-ing Group (ATCWG), and High Level Policy Dia-logue on Agriculture Biotechnology (HLPDAB).

The PPFS meeting take place during SOM1 from 3-5 March, 2018. APEC Food Security Week is from 4-10 August, 2018, during SOM3. The meetings of interest to DAL are the Policy Partnership for Food Security (PPFS) to be chaired by DAL Secretary which will occur on 3-5 March 2018 in Port Mores-by, during SOM1.

DAL Director of Food Security and APEC Coor-dinator, Brown Konabe, said he plans to organize a workshop before SOM1 to brief senior DAL offic-ers and possibly Commodity Boards and Agencies on the progress of preparations and specific agricul-tural priorities and deliverables for 2018 for SOM1 and SOM3 meetings.

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AI & PB Going to great lengths to provide Information

Farming for subsistence is basic necessity for Papua New Guineans living in rural and semi urban communities. This is an agriculture sector that is critical to further advancement of the country but has had intermittent support from agencies of gov-ernment in years past until today when the Govern-ment has policies to support and strengthen this ru-ral farming sector through the Department of Agri-culture and Livestock and related key stakeholders.

The National Broadcasting Corporation of PNG will be creating an exciting new project, ‘Usim Graun’ which will be creating a weekly, ongoing, rural agricultural farming program. Usim Graun supports the Government policies for greater food security by strengthening the rural agriculture sector through dissemination and interaction with rural farmers and stakeholder agencies. In doing so, it empowers farmers/listeners improve garden yields,

improve nutrition in families, and promote support to women who make up the bulk of rural farmers in PNG. The program will be broadcast each week on NBC’s Provincial Radio network and repeated on the National Radio network.

The NBC as a development partner with Govern-ment supports this strategy development and will partner with the Department of Agriculture and Livestock and other likeminded agencies in strengthening rural farmer skills and knowledge not only in soil utilization and crop cultivation but also in nutrition and related economic activities.

This program aims to give rural Papua New Guinean farmers opportunity to interact with tech-nical experts in food production, nutrition and other food security related issues. Topics of discussion will educate and empower rural farmers to make informed decisions when farming.

This program with online content will also pro-mote and empower women as they make up the ma-jority in rural farmers. This is a fundamental aspect of food security in PNG as women always decide on what the family eats based on the kind of food avail-able to her.

Production: Provincial producers/presenters will compile 1 program a week to be aired on midweek AM show and repeated on PM show of same even-ing. Audio is uploaded at end of week to NBC Digi-tal for placement online. Broadcast Time: Wednes-day 06:45 – 07:00 (am) and repeated 20:30 – 20:45 (pm). The program will commence in February, 2018.

Usim Graun - NBC Rural Agricultural Radio Program

Agricultural graduands told to have right attitude and moral standards Agricultural graduands have been told to think positively, be honest, responsible, disciplined and hard working if they want to succeed in life.

This was the message given to more than 150 stu-dents who graduated from the Highlands Agricultural College in Mt Hagen last week. The college held its 43rd graduation which may be the last under Depart-ment of Agriculture and Livestock as plans are under-way for the college to come under Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technolo-gy.

The students, who received certificate in tropical agriculture farming, and post certificate diploma in tropical agriculture, were told that having the right attitude based on good habits and good ethical moral standards will help to build their agriculture careers.

Department of Agriculture and Livestock’s Direc-

Director for Agriculture Education & Training Cecilia Kagena (second from right) & college Principal Philip Senat (third from right) and senior staff getting ready to lead the graduation pro-cession.

DAL’s Director of Information, Nicks Maniha (second from left), chatting with officials from NBC and Coffee Industry Corporation.

AI & PB Going to great lengths to provide Information

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Highlands Agricultural College moves to DHERST

The Department of Agriculture and Livestock’s Highlands Agricultural College will be transferred to the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST).

The announcement was made during the col-lege’s 43rd graduation last week in Mt Hagen.

DAL’s Director of Agriculture Education and Training, Cecilia Kagena, told the college manage-ment, staff and graduating students that the Cabinet had approved a submission to transfer the college, which is part of an amalgamation of all tertiary insti-tutions to come under DHERST.

In announcing that 2018 will be an exciting and a transitional period for the college, Ms Kagena, as-sured the college that the agriculture programs and

related agriculture activities will very much remain a focus of the college, but under new management.

“This I believe is a blessing in disguise and a dream come true as we have been for so long work-ing at this initiative this past five years.

“I believe this approach will now pave a new di-rection as we can now be finally recognized as a higher learning institution, governed by a council to manage the affairs of the institution, as well as en-suring that the national qualification framework in-cluding accreditation is implemented, which is in line with the higher education policy guideline.”

Ms Kagena said DAL has been working closely with various stakeholders including the Australian Government through its Pacific Public Linkage Pro-gram coordinated by Queensland Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Office of HERST (now DHERST), National Training Coun-cil, Department of Education, Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET), in reviewing the col-lege curriculum based on competency to meet na-tional qualification standards, and move by Cabinet was timely.

A total of eight students graduated with their post certificate diploma in tropical agriculture, a total of 75 students graduated with their certificate in tropi-cal agriculture farming, and 71 students received their certificate of attainment in tropical agriculture farming.

tor of Agriculture Education and Training, Cecilia Kagena, and HAC Principal, Phillip Senat, in their congratulatory messages said the students can have the highest achievements or qualification but if they do not have the right attitudes their efforts will be in vain and go unrecognized.

They said that obtaining a certificate is a great per-sonal achievement, and a start to a new chapter in

their professional and personal career in agriculture. Getting formal jobs is not everything, but that educat-ed and trained agriculturalists like themselves will use their knowledge and skills to be farmers themselves.

They told the graduands to use their knowledge and skills to contribute in transforming the agriculture sector.

“Many of you have come to HAC with many years of field experiences as didimans and didimeris or as youths with no hope in life. It is my belief that this program has further enhanced your ability and per-sonal skills to better deal with your work upon return-ing to your postings and communities in the provinc-es, or the sectoral institutions.”

Ms Kagena said there was limited job opportuni-ties but she hoped that the graduands can seek oppor-tunities at all levels within the agriculture sector or utilize the knowledge and skills to become practical farmers.

“Let me remind you also that in any given situa-tion, our attitudes will greatly determine who we are and what we are, and so we must strive to be of good character and possess good ethical moral standards.”

Agricultural graduands told to have right attitude and moral standards ...cont. from page 4….

CIS Inspector Fred Kipa PCD graduand in Tropical Agricul-ture is congratulated by college Principal Philip Senat. On the right, Dux of the PCD in Tropical Agriculture, Jerry Ben, re-ceiving one of his prizes from Bernard Pilon, CIC PPAP senior officer.

Director, Agriculture Education & Training Cecilia Kagena with five of the six students sponsored by the Central Provincial Government. The students received certificates in Tropical Agriculture.

AI & PB Going to great lengths to provide Information

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riculture and resilience, gender and women’s em-powerment, sub- national governance, strengthening village courts, and footbridges. She has also led pro-grammes in the Highlands, Morobe and Manus provinces.

Her educational background and qualifications include, a Master of Leadership in Development, Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture Science Educa-tion, and Diploma in Forestry.

In her current position as the National Food Se-curity and Agriculture Cluster Coordinator, Ms Si-kas will be working in collaboration with DAL and other government departments, institutions, donor community and the civil society including, churches and NGOs.

Asked what she expected to achieve in her position, she said:

“I hope to increase opportunities for smallholder families especially, those in the rural areas to im-prove their livelihoods through the sector program interventions aligning them with national policies and plans”.

On 8th December, 2017, Ms Sikas chaired her first meeting as Coordinator of the National Food Security and Agriculture Cluster. Head of FAO PNG, Ken Shimizu, also attended the meeting.

The National Food Security and Agriculture Cluster has a new coordinator. She is Helmtrude Si-kas-Iha (Trudie) who joined FAO last month.

Ms Sikas previously worked with CARE Interna-tional in Papua New Guinea as a Senior Resilience Officer. She has wide work experience with a high level of educational qualifications.

Ms Sikas has 9 years of work experience as a programmer, which include, 5 years with CARE In-ternational and 4 years with Oxfam International PNG in disaster risk management, climate smart ag-

National Food Security and Agriculture Cluster has a new Coordinator

Brown Konabe (Director FSB), Dr Venkat Dheeravath (WFP), Trudie Sikas (Coordinator,NFS and Agric. Cluster) and Ken Shimizu (Head of FAO, PNG).

The Apiculture Industry in the recent past and currently faces two bio-security issues, apart from the issue of lack of direct funding to support the smallholder farmers who account for all the honey produced currently which fluctuates between 13-15metric tons per year since 2010.

Since 2008, the industry has faced the incidence of Varroa mite and the recent 2015 Tropillaelaps mite. These two mites now co-exist in most bee

Apiculture Farmers Improvise to Improve Honey Production

hives of farmers in the highlands. Both mites have a parasitic relationship with the bees which leads to the gradual decline of the bee population and can lead to total demise of the colony if not controlled through use of chemical or management strategies.

Since June 2015, Tropillaelaps mite has been de-clared a ‘bio-security threat’ but efforts to get fund-ing through the NAQIA sanctioned Local Disease Control Committee has failed. However efforts on

the ground by the dedi-cated api-culture ex-tension workers from both govern-ment, in-dustry and NGOs has been com-mendable.

Figures: Farmer with the honey filled frame: Frame being weighed in at 7kg

AI & PB Going to great lengths to provide Information

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Two officers from DAL attended a development policy and planning seminar in China earlier this year.

Allan Ovu, Accountant, and Graham Eliuda, ad-ministration officer with Southern Regional Office, participated in the seminar on China’s Medium and Long Term Development Plans for Senior Officials for Developing Countries, held in Beijing from the 29th August to 21st September 2017.

Another PNG national, Jim Abani, from the PNG Censorship Board, was among the 60 delegates

DAL officers learn more about China’s development plans

from 23 countries that attended the three-week pro-gram, hosted by the Ministry of Commerce.

The seminar coordinated by the officials of Academy for International Business Officials was very intensive which covered a wide range of topics. Most of the presenters were professors and with doctorates.

These included Introduction to China’s National Conditions, New Idea, New thinking and New Strat-egies of the New Chinese Leaders for the Govern-ance of China, Experience on China’s Reform and Opening Up and Economic Development, The Top Level Design of Smart Cities, Chinese Policy and Experience on Poverty Alleviation, The Interpreta-tion of China’s 13th Five Year Development Plan, Experience and Lessons from China’s Medium and Long Term Development Plan, China’s Business Development Plan, Experience on China’s Railway Network Plan and High Speed Rail Development, Experience on China’s Industrial Development, Strategies on China’s Green Agriculture Develop-ment.

The seminar lectures presentations focused on the Republic of China’s Economic Development achievements in CHINA and the Global Economy under the Leadership of Five (5) Presidents since 1949 – 2016. These included Mao Zedong, Deng Xiao Ping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and current lead-er, Xi Jinping.

The seminar was quite extensive and had an im-pact on the participants as it explained to the rest of the world on how China has managed its resources in its economic development and achievements over the past decades.

The priority for extension has been on advising farmers to follow strictly the Honey Bee Calendar of Activities in any year. This emphasized the need for farmers, at the designated months of the year to, amongst other practices, feed bees during dry months, replace old queen bee with new one, install chemical strips at the proper time to reduce mite population, installing additional boxes when bee population and activity increases and maintaining general hygiene of the apiary.

Other advanced farmers have been advised to try new ideas on reducing cost, while maintaining hon-ey production.

A farmer who has tried out such new ideas has shown promise, by producing a frame that has been weighed in at 7kg. This frame will at yield at least

6kg of honey after extraction. This is high compared to getting 3-4kg of honey under current standard practices.

This particular farmer has also managed have up to 5 boxes in a hive with at least 3 of the boxes filled with sealed honey frames.

This farmer and other such serious and innovative farmers are in for a bumper crop this year.

These efforts can be replicated and amplified if the industry can be supported. The current demand for honey locally is around 100tons per annum, while a potential to export around 40tons of honey per year exists.

Apiculture Farmers Improvise to Improve Honey Production ….cont. from page 6...

Ventral view of Varroa mite(left)

compared to the Tropillaelaps mite(right)

Graham Eliuda and Alan Ovu pictured during an excursion in Beijing China.

…...continued on page 8 ……...

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Fire Burns Down DAL Institutional House at Moitaka

A Department of Agriculture and Livestock In-stitutional house at Moitaka compound was burnt down by fire between the late and early hours of Saturday night, and Sunday morning, the 4th and 5th of November, 2017.

Luckily, there were no casualties although the Ambulance, the Police, Fire fighters and PNG Pow-er arrived later at the scene of the fire to assist.

At the time of the fire, the building was under the care of relatives of the officer – Damien Maul who is currently on a two-years study programme in New Zealand while his wife and children are in Chimbu Province. Mr. Maul is Chief Resource Plan-ner with the Policy, Planning, and Budgets Branch.

Mr. Maul furnished a Brief Incident Report on the fire to the DAL Management, Housing Committee and Assets section on the house (MTK House No. 021) immediately, based on information provided by his relatives who were occupying the house at

the time of the fire. The DAL Assets officers also conducted investigations and furnished a detailed report on the fire.

In his brief incident report on the fire dated, 5th November 2017, Mr Maul stated that the house was occupied by his two small brothers since he left for studies in July 2017 and that he relied on infor-mation gathered by them and family members to furnish the report.

He said: “I was shocked to hear that my institutional house at DAL Moitaka compound was burned down last night. It affected me greatly as I cannot concen-trate on my studies.”

He further He reported that he was aware that in August 2017 PNG Power had disconnected electric-ity to some of the Institutional houses at Moitaka including, his house due to non-payment of power bills. As a result his brothers were using candles which caused the fire incident in November.

“The flames of the burning candle somehow spread through the floor and eventually touched the walls and burned down the whole house. They couldn’t stop the fire as half of the house was com-pletely burned as they woke up. They rushed out of the house without removing all our belongings which were all burned with the house including all my important work files and certificates.”

However, while the DAL Assets section investi-gation report agrees with the power disconnection issue, it alleged that the institutional house was con-tinually miss-used by relatives for illegal activities such as, drinking alcohol and parties with women, gambling and causing disturbances at the compound despite warnings by senior residential staff. The al-legations were confirmed by the residents as well.

Based on the findings, recommendations are pend-ing for possible prosecution/legal action in early 2018.

Remains of the DAL Institutional house gutted by fire. (Photo by DAL Assets Unit)

China is now formulating its’ thirteenth (13th) five (5) years development plan of the economy. All revenues generated from its exploited resources re-directed towards its five (5) years development.

The surplus earnings from foreign trade are invested in foreign direct investments assistance to other de-veloping countries such as Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America, Caribbean and Europe.

Chinese Government’s assistance in providing sponsorship for scholarship programmes for short/medium/long (1-3) years courses to other de-

veloping countries in the world. China will be host-ing the summer and winter Olympic Games by March 2018.

One of the most interesting of all is that; the rev-enues generated in a province of a region specifi-cally re-directed and reserved for a particular devel-opment of that region. In other words, it has become a practice for the Chinese government thus; devel-opment of its economic growth globally was at a higher rate of 16% percent in the world.

DAL officers learn more about China’s development plans …..continued from page 7.

AI & PB Going to great lengths to provide Information

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Food safety a global issue

Elias John was among 80 participants from 19 countries who participated in the 2017 Seminar on Agricultural Products and Food Safety Management for Developing Countries held in China in August.

John, of Central Province, is a senior technical officer (food safety and standards) of Agro Food Safety and Codex Unit, Science and Technology Branch, DAL.

And on the closing day of the seminar, John was given the honor to deliver a farewell speech on be-half of the 80 participants.

During the 21-day program, the participants went through extensive communication with Chinese ex-perts in food safety, covering various topics of food safety legal system, food safety supervision system, agro-products safety, import-export food safety, pesticide and RFID technology, etc. Through ex-

change of ideas, participants developed a deeper understanding of China’s food safety management experience and framework, division of responsibili-ties and supervision model. Participants learnt ac-quired theories, management experience and tech-nologies applicable to their own countries, which will strengthen capacities to address food safety problems.

They also visited food facilities and research in-stitutes in Changsha city of Hunan Province and Shanghai city as well as Beijing. A highlight of the program was the visit to Shanghai city, an economic hub of China, and China’s Great Wall.

John expressed his appreciation to the Govern-ment of China, the Embassy in PNG, the Ministry of Commerce, Institute of Food and Fermentation Industries, and DAL, for their support. He said the knowledge and information gained will assist in the beginning of another milestone in their careers to ensure good agricultural practices and proper food safety management.

“In our seminar, we have learned so many things from the presentations and site visits. The professors and technical experts from various organizations shared most of their experiences on many topics on agricultural product manufacturing and food safety disciplines.”

“Food safety is seen as a global issue and every-one has to unite and work towards combating these issues for better and healthier nations. Remember, food safety is everyone’s business regardless of race, background and cultural heritage. We are in the time where world has enabled food security and food safety is becoming more important which has led to various national and international regulations and standards.”

John Elias with some of the participants holding their seminar certificates.

DAL Website preparation underway

The DAL website has been accorded the highest priority in preparation for APEC 2018.

Hence, a DAL website development team has been formed, led by the Information Branch and work has commenced to establish the website with the assistance of FAO.

Initially, Datec Ltd was contracted by FAO to design the DAL website and to host it. At a recent meeting, Datec presented three templates of the webpage for DAL to decide on, including discus-sions on the requirements for the contents of the webpages which would come from the respective divisions, branches and programs of the Department including, the Minister's office.

During the meeting, the importance of a DAL website was highlighted in the lead up to APEC. Mr

Brown Konabe who is the DAL/APEC coordinator, said the APEC economies have enquired about DAL website to access agricultural information. Hence, it is an important requirement for DAL to have a website in place before APEC Senior Offi-cial Meeting 1 (SOM1) that will start in February, 2018. The setting up of the DAL website therefore, fitted in well with the APEC PNG 2018 theme of, “Digital & Internet Economy”.

The website team has requested for relevant in-formation for the content development from the Di-rectors and Program Managers. The website will have links to development partners, sector agencies and Commodity Boards. Their functional briefs will be uploaded and posted on the respective pages with their authorization to reflect the sector website.

the province as well.

Team leader of the delega-tion of six experts, including two women, Mr. Jiang Yi, deputy Director – General, Department of Agriculture of Guangdong Province told sen-ior DAL staff that their Gov-ernment was prepared to pro-vide technical support and guidance in research into PNG’s local agricultural and related products.

The purpose of the visit was to discuss the possi-bility of agricultural exchange and cooperation be-tween PNG and China to study the development sta-tus of edible fungi (mushroom), sweet potato and bananas, and the possibility of exploring the market for the products.

The Chinese have also invited DAL and NARI to select suitable candidates who will undergo inten-sive training in Guangdong early next year.

The officers will be trained in the production of edible fungus, banana and sweet potatoes at the Guangdong Academy of Agriculture Sciences. The training will include both lectures and field visits. Two experts are also scheduled to travel to PNG at the end of February 2018 for 6 months training pro-gramme on edible fungi and sweet potatoes.

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The Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Hon. Benny Allan, wants government employees tasked to develop and promoting the agriculture sector to improve their work performance.

Minister Allan called on all officers working for the Department of Agriculture and Livestock, the Commodity Boards and Agencies to have a change of mind and step up in their overall performance.

He said it was very important for the public ser-vice machinery to “wake up” and function like the private sector. The Government will not tolerate poor performance, negative attitude, laziness, bad moral habits and other unacceptable standards.

The Minister is very passionate in driving the agriculture sector forward and thus he directed that “all industry players as well as the National Depart-ment of Agriculture and Livestock ought to organise to drive the sector and industry forward”.

He said there are many challenges in implement-

The Chinese Government is ready to support large scale commercial mushroom production and other vegetables in Papua New Guinea.

This was made known during a briefing between a visiting Chinese agriculture delegation and the De-partment of Agriculture and Livestock in Port Mo-resby last week.

The visiting delegation is from Guangdong Prov-ince, the largest Province in the Southern part of China located on the South China sea coast, on the border of Hong Kong and Macau. Guangdong is the largest agriculture production province in China, the biggest consumption and agriculture trading in

Agriculture workers told to improve work performance

ing National Governments priority programs in the country, and its important that all agencies cooperat-ed fully and worked together in developing the sec-tor.

“The existing systems and administrative pro-cesses needs to be reviewed and made leaner so that budgetary allocations intended for key programs achieve maximum results. Currently the administra-tive overheads take bigger volume of the budgetary allocation thus leaving very small portion for imple-menting core activities of these priority programs.

“Effective Coordination between key Agencies of the government is key in achieving maximum results within given resources envelope. Making informed decisions within government agencies with a clear understanding of the same goals and objectives is important in achieving results for the priorities set by the National Government.”

China keen to promote large scale commercial mushroom production

Group photo of the Chinese delegation and DAL staff at DAL headquarters, Waigani.

VO L UME 38, ISSUE 8, D EC EMB ER , 2017 AGR IC UL TUR E N IUS, 11

AI & PB Going to great lengths to provide Information

DAL staff told to embrace God in their work performance

Public Announcement

Christmas and New year Holiday Shutdown Period—2017/18 The Government has determined the arrangements for the Christmas & New Year Holiday Shut-down. The Shut Down starts after lunch on Friday 22nd December 2017 (half day) and ends on Monday 01st January 2018. All public servants are to return to work on Tuesday 02nd January

2018. The status of each of the Shut Down period is as follows:

Friday 22nd December 2017—Working Day to lunchtime

(half day for travel and shopping)

Saturday 23rd December 2017—Weekend Day off

Sunday 24th December 2017—Weekend Day Off

Monday 25th December 2017—Christmas Day

The staff of the Department of Agriculture and Livestock have been told that they cannot perform their duties without God. DAL staff both at manage-ment level down to junior officers cannot lead or serve the people, especially the farmers, if they do not seek God’s guidance.

In his Closing remarks during the closing up of DAL Christian Fellowship for the year 2017, the Director Peter Kaekae, Personnel and Administra-tive Branch who is also the chairman of the fellow-ship said “God started Agriculture, when he planted the garden in the east, the Garden of Eden, Genesis chapter 2:8. That was the beginning of agriculture he said.

In Genesis chapter 3:23, God drives Adam & Eve out of the Garden of Eden, because of their dis-obedience. God tells Adam with pain you shall till the ground for food. The work of agriculture began.

Through ages, our forefathers have tilled the soil for living. Tilling the soil is not new to PNG.

Agriculture is the important and crucial part of humanity. It saves people from poverty; thus, the

department of Agriculture is expected to lead in en-hancing strategies that will sustain the livelihoods of our communities and bring prosperity to our people he said.

The Director said the people in DAL who run and contribute to the development of this nation is none other than you and me. We cannot lead this department to help people of PNG without God. God started this process. Proverbs 3:5 says Trust God with all your heart and do not lean on your un-derstanding. That has been the missing connection but thank God, we have now linked DAL to God through this fellowship.

So far so good. Our prayers have been answered. The government has now declared agriculture as a priority for the five (5) years. On top of that, we have a committed and a Christian Minister and Vice Minister. With the leadership of our Secretary, the three have paved the way forward through a consul-tative approach, 2017 Agriculture Summit. We now have a pathway to walk on.

He said although DAL fellowship membership is currently a minority group, we have seen how God is blessing our department through our prayers and as such must continue to meet together next year 2018, as the scripture reminds us in Hebrew 10:25.

It is welcoming to note that through the sharing on email, I have seen many interesting comments of DAL staffs being blessed. If those interests are turned into action, we should see more members coming next year he said. He thanked Shirley for her commitment in keeping the department in-formed on the bible texts that are shared.

In concluding he thanked the committee mem-bers for their commitment and wished all a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year 2018.

A group photo of DAL Christian Fellowship members.

Condolence Message

THE LATE STEWARD JIMMY

D.O.B: 09/12/1986 TO D.O.D: 29/10/2017

The Secretary for Department of Agriculture and Livestock, Dr. Vele Pat Ila’ava, the Senior Management, staff and colleagues of the Department convey our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the wife, Julia Jimmy, the only daughter, Ruthie Jimmy and Mindipi family, relatives, and friends on

the untimely passing of the Late, Steward Jimmy on the 29th of October, 2017 after two months of bat-tle with severe case of TB at the Port Moresby General Hospital.

The Late Steward Jimmy graduated with a Degree in Agricultural Science from the PNG University of Technology Lae, in 2012.

In 2014, he started with DAL as the acting Liaisons officer with NAC and got appointed as Compliance and Monitoring officer Grade 12 in 2017, and was there until his death.

MAY HIS SOUL REST IN ETERNAL PEACE

Dr. Vele Pat Ila’ava, Secretary for DAL

Papua New Guinea agriculture is a climate-smart, interna-

tionally competitive, business-oriented powerhouse trans-

lating our vast untapped agriculture potential to provide

food security, sustainable rural development, prosperity for

our people and economic independence for our Nation.

Take an active role in transforming the agriculture sector,

provide sound professional and innovative policy advice,

high quality and effective technical and administrative sup-

port to inspire and empower optimal performance of all key

stakeholders and our clients.

D E PAR T ME N T O F AG R I CU LT UR E A ND L I V ES T O C K

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Proverbs 29:18