© nari nius, volume 15, issue 4 jan—mar 2013 nari ... · 2020, acp project on ... ments for...

ISSN 1608-6554

Newsletter of the PNG National Agricultural Research Institute © NARI Nius, Volume 15, Issue 4

Jan—Mar 2013

of Dedicated

Agricultural Research

for Sustainable

Vision and Mission Statement

- p2 Information on Publications - p14 Contact Addresses

of Research Centres - p16

T he National Government has declared this year,

2013, as the year of imple-mentation and commitment and has directed all national departments, provincial ad-ministrations and statutory public authorities to deliver its mandated responsibilities to ensure the delivery of service. The National Agricultural Re-search Institute (NARI) as a publicly-funded statutory re-search organisation under the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Tech-nology was also a party to this important agreement through the Institute’s Director Gen-eral, Dr Raghunath Ghodake. Dr Ghodake signed a Perform-ance Agreement between the Minister for HERST (as first Part) and the latter (as second Part) to commit the Institute to implement and deliver on three priority ac t iv it ies (projects) over three years 2013-2015 consistent with the National Government’s Alotau Accord and the Prime Minister’s directive. The three priority activities (projects) are: PNG Preparedness to Inter-

mittent and P rolonged Droughts and Frosts;

Innovative development of the smallholder livestock sector in PNG;

Domestic ation, commer-cializat ion and develop-ment of canarium (galip) nut industry in PNG.

Under Priority 1: PNG Prepar-edness to Intermittent and Prolonged Droughts and Frosts, NARI is to Establish six new res ourc e c entres , through participatory research and dissemination at existing and new resource centres im-prove and sustain capacity of partners and stakeholders, identify/develop new sweet potato varieties in addition to drought coping strateg ies, identify and assess the ro-bustness of key weather pa-rameters for drought predic-tions, and draft in consultation with GO, NGO, NDC and others a National drought prepared-ness plan. Priority 2 activities is focused on Innovative development of the smallholder livestock sec-tor in PNG.

These include identifying prior-ity livestock species, produc-tion areas and common health problems, determine high risk areas for natural disasters and establish partner net-works, promote the establish-ment of local feed mills sup-plying feeds to smallholder broiler sector, and formulate and produce quality local feeds for different livestock types and used by farmers. Under Priority 3 titled Domesti-cation, commercialization and development of canarium (galip) nut industry in PNG, NARI is to distribute 40,000 superior galip seedlings, verify and establish Galip nut shell drying methods, develop, ver-ify and confirm Galip NIS stor-age protocols and identify

NARI committed to Government directive to deliver priority projects and results

© NARI Nius, Volume 16, Issue 1

Points of interest:

Continue on page

The 52nd NARI Council meeting held at Bubia in March saw the induction of Agnes Jonah representing Growers Association

Vanuatu, SI receive egg incubators

3

Kutubu model farmers receive training

4

Enabling small-holder livestock services in PNG

5

Staff join campaign to rid VAW

7

Mini mills to boost livestock production

9

The new world map on agricultural R&D investment

12

Empowering farmers for market advocacy

13

Importance of value chain in vege pro-duction

15

From page 1

specific market for galip prod-ucts. The other aspect (Part 1) of the performance agreement is Strategic Management and Leadership. This target provides the areas of performance goals and spe-cific successes under each of these goals to be imple-mented during the year 2013. These will be as-sessed and rated for the year 2013 (may be early 2014). Most of these goals areas will be delivered on by NARI Coun-cil/ DG/ DDG/P Ds/and Divi-sional Managers as supported by rest of appropriate staff and colleagues. Part two of the agreement is on particular results for the year 2013 and these have three different areas of re-sults. The first being particu-lar results expected from the three priority projects. The second covers major cor-porate level results (standards and R&D projects). These in-clude the review, approval and implementation of staff remunerations, ACPAC ac-counting and resource man-agement system, Gender Mainstreaming Policy 2012 – 2020, ACP project on “enhanced capacities of R&D stakeholders in disseminating technolog ies and facilitating innovations on the Western Pacific Region” designed and submitted for approval, the EU Red 2 project on “Agricultural innovations for improved liveli-hoods in the Highlands of PNG” developed and submit-ted for approval, NARI system wide monitoring and evalua-tion system developed and implemented, and impact as-sessment system developed and implemented.

Part three covers learning and development such as re-search infrastructure fully de-veloped and equipped with facilities and resourced with necessary scientific and tech-nical manpower. These in-clude the Biotechnology labo-ratory at Bubia, administration office, laboratory and guest-house at Islands Regional Centre, Kerevat, office and outreac h building at Tambul and staff houses at Kilakila in Port Moresby and Bubia. Through the signing of the Performance Agreement, Dr Ghodake has committed the NARI Management and staff to meet government objec-tives in upholding good gov-ernance, efficient and effec-tive use of resources and pre-senting regular reports on

financial management, dem-onstrate strong and effective leadership ensuring regular access to government notices, instill discipline and rule of law, and staff appropriately remunerated, service delivery, performanc e management with Corporate Plan clearly related to Government’s ob-jectives and briefing the Minis-ter responsible on a regular basis and providing timely professional advice.

Dr Ghodake has urged respec-tive staff directly or collec-tively will be responsible for various aspects of the agree-ment to study the files and understand what is required to deliver on. “I would like you all to please read and take this information as serious as you can so that we individually and collectively deliver on the performance agreement that I (as CEO) have signed with the minister for HERST (and thus with the GoPNG).” Dr Ghodake added that this Government has decided that this year (2013) be the year of implementation and commit-ment as ref lected in perform-ances of agencies and depart-ments. The performances will be monitored, evaluated

and reported on a quarterly basis and also on annual ba-sis. It may be noted that the an-nual performance assessment for 2012 as duly assessed by Honorable Don Polye, acting Minster for HERST, has been submitted to the Chief Secre-tary on 27th March 2013. The overall rat ing being “Much Above Satisfactory Perform-ance”.

- Barbara Tomi

The National Agr icultur al Re-search Institute (NARI) was estab-lished by an Act of National Parlia-ment of Papua New Guinea (PNG) in July 1996 as a public funded, statu-tory research organisation, to con-duct and foster applied and adaptive research into:

i) any b ranch of biological, physical and natural sciences related to agri-culture;

ii) cultural and socioeconomic as-pects of the agricultural sector, espe-cially of the smallholder agriculture; and

iii) matters relating to ru ral develop-ment. And of relevance to Papua New Guinea.

Besides, NARI is responsible for providing technical, analytical, diag-nostic and advisory services and up-to-date information to the agriculture sector in PNG.

The Institute’s purpose (strategic objective) is to accomplish enhanced productivity, efficiency, stability and sustainability of the smallholder agriculture sector in the country so as to contribute to the improved welfare of rural families and commu-nities who depend wholly or partly on agriculture for their livelihoods. This is intended to be accomplished through NARI’s mission of p romoting innovative agricultural development in Papua New Guinea through scien-tific research, knowledge creation and information ex change.

In its vision for PNG, NARI sees “Prosperous PNG Agricultural Com-munities” .


NARI directed to deliver on 3 priority projects

The NARI Council representing various stakeholders in the agriculture sector who play a vital role ensuring the Institute perform and achieve results


A gricultural mechanization increases productivity of land and labour,

improves quality of produce, and re-duces loss of produce. The use of im-proved farm implements and machinery also increases efficiency, reduces costly inputs such as fertilizers, chemicals and seeds; and maximizes profitability. PNG and Solomon Islands are embark-ing on agricultural mechanization as an important input to bring efficiency to the farm level and improve agriculture. This initiative is supported by the EU-ACP through a farm mechanization project started in August last year.

Project leader Nosare Maika said the project’s aim is to design and fabricate small agricultural machines for farmers in PNG and Solomon Islands. “This is to enhance awareness on the use of small machines to improve agri-cultural productivity by overcoming short-age of labour and land in farming com-munit ies,” said Mr Maika. The project is implemented by NARI in partnership with Solomon Islands’ Minis-try of Agriculture. NARI in February formalised arrange-

ments for local construction company, Innotech Limited, to construct a mini engineering workshop at Bubia in Lae. The three year project, has one of its main outputs as having in place a mini engineering workshop and engineering laboratory buildings at NARI and another engineering workshop in the Solomon Islands. Mr Maika said the buildings will be equipped with relevant equipment, tools and instruments and used for the pur-poses of fabricat ion, repair and mainte-nance of small agricultural machines.

Farm mechanization project begins

Vanuatu & Solomon Islands receive egg incubators P roject partners in Solo-

mon Islands and Vanuatu each received small poultry egg incubators to boost the production of village chicks in their respective countries. Kastom Gaden Association (KGA) in Solomon Islands re-ceived a 400-egg capacity egg incubator from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock on 19 March while the Vanuatu Agricultural Research and Technical Centre (VARTC) re-ceived a 432-egg capacity incubator from the Depart-ment of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) of Vanu-atu on 28 March 2013. This is part of a five year re-search project aimed at miti-gating the effects of climate change on food security and livelihoods in vulnerable areas of Papua New Guinea, Solo-mon Islands and Vanuatu that was launched in PNG, in 2011. The project has since been implemented in Solo-mon Islands and is funded by the European Union and im-plemented by NARI in partner-ship with the Ministry of Agri-culture and Livestock, Solo-mon Islands, DARD, Vanuatu and the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Aus-tria. The specific objective is to improve the food production

capacity of smallholder farm-ing communities in areas where precipitation deficits, excess soil moisture and soil salinity problems are becom-ing significant threats to agri-cultural production and pro-ductivity. Apart from small livestock development, the project has components on crop improvement, soil fert ility management and water man-agement. NARI Livestock officer, Monica Mazi, is on hand at the same to provide practical training to nominated VARTC, DARD and KGA technicians on the set up and management of the incu-bator. VARTC will receive an operational budget of about Vatu550,000 from the project

to supply chicks on cost recov-ery basis. VARTC has a small village chicken breeding unit that will produce fertile eggs to hatch in the incubator and distribute to participating farmers at three project sites at Siviri and Malafau on Efate and Middlebush on Tanna Islands. KGA will also receive an op-erational budget of about SBD 45,000 (Forty Five thousand Solomon Dollars) from the project and supply chicks on cost recovery basis. KGA has set up a small village chicken breeding unit that will produce fertile eggs to hatch in the incubator and distribute the chicks to farmers at Aruligho in Guadalcanal Province,

Hunda & Kena in Western Province and Buma in Malaita Province. The incubator will be set up at its head quarters in Honiara. The incubators were procured and shipped at the cost of about Vatu450,000 for Vanu-atu and SBD35,000 for the Solomon Islands. This project is financed by the European Union, which pro-vided a research grant of Eu-ro2.93 million, to finance 80% of the direct costs of the pro-ject over its five year imple-mentation period. NARI con-tributed the matching 20% of the project costs.

In Vanuatu, the Director of DARD (right) presents the equipment to Dr Roger Malapa, acting CEO of VARTC

Jim Saelea (right), Under-Secretary Tech-nical of MAL Solomon Islands, shaking hands with Moses Palemo (left), chairman of KGA as Dr Workneh Ayalew of NARI looks on


L ake Kutubu is an inland lake located in the Nipa-

Kutubu district of the South-ern Highlands province. It lies 800m above sea level and extends about 20km in length and 5km in width. An esti-mated 5000-6000 inhabi-tants mainly of the Foe and Fasu ethnic groups live in three large and six smaller villages dispersed along the eastern coast of the lake and on the few islands. These peo-ple make their living from fish-ing and gardening around the lake. Traditionally, they are dependent on sago and fish and even today a certain de-gree of hunting and gathering is still practiced. With increasing populat ion and depletion of fish stocks from the lake and wild game from the forests, food secu-rity, particularly household protein, is threatened. The community recognises the need to change from their tradit ional lifestyle to one that would better sustain their live-lihood in the long-term. There are some changes to farming of livestock and crops in the area but these have been brought about mainly by peo-ple from outside the area, especially by women marrying into the lake community. The community’s efforts to farm crops and livestock for food security and cash in-come will now be further en-hanced through a three-year food security project between NARI and Oil Search Limited (OSL) under an MOU signed in 2012. The project is a com-ponent of a broader inte-grated community develop-ment programme supported by OSL for villages around the lake. OSL requested NARI to con-duct a scoping study in the lake villages in June 2011 which identified and priori-tised, among other issues,

community training needs in livestock and crop production. The agreed needs included chicken, duck and pig hus-bandry (housing, breeding, feeding); feeds and feeding of livestock, especially on use of local feed resources; basic animal health care; making gardens, and soil nutrient management, including com-posting, green manuring, crop rotation and weed control. These needs were addressed through a hands-on training and demonstration conducted from 25 February to 1 March at the NARI High Altitude High-lands Research Centre, Tam-bul, Western Highlands prov-ince. Twenty model farmers (14 males, 6 females) including three community leaders se-lected from the lake villages attended the one week train-ing. The training placed emphasis on practical demonstrations with 30% of time spent on classroom activities and 70% spent on field demonstrations of yam, taro and banana mini sett techniques, nurs ery preparation, transplanting, soil management, power points and videos on mulch-ing, different food crop varie-ties, main livestock and food crop pest and diseases and basic control methods.

Two model farmers from the Tambul area, Akilo Purunu and Dumu Dagua, who are using some of the NARI re-leased technologies and who work closely with NARI Tambul staff also did demonstrations on feed mixing using the NARI high and low energy concen-trates and sweet potato silage making for pig feed, and shared their experiences with the Lake Kutubu farmers. The Kutubu farmers appreci-ated this training very much and welcome further training, especially on pig production, to be conducted on-site. It was apparent that many food crop varieties including the ones released by NARI are not very well known by the lake community. As part of the training and demonstration, NARI also supplied to the

farmers 120 chickens, 270 Muscovy ducks, 40 rolls of chicken wires, and 40 drink-ers and feeders. As agreed in the MOU, the trained model farmers will extend the training to other interested farmers in their community and supply prog-eny of chickens and ducks free of charge to others based on a revolving credit arrange-ment. Hopefully this will help generate more interest and speed up the spread of farm-

ing livestock and crops for household food security and income in the lake villages. The food security project ends in January 2014 but can be extended if necessary. The principal trainers were Martin Lobao, Jeremiah Ahizo and Stanley Amben of NARI Tambul, and Pascal Pandau of NARI Bubia. James Tarabu of Labu organised the transport of animals and materials from Lae to Tambul, and together with Mr Ahizo, accompanied the farmers to Kutubu to de-liver and oversee the distribu-tion of stocks and materials to farmers in the different lake villages. The training was or-ganised and facilitated by Dr Pikah Kohun on behalf of NARI Livestock Projects, Labu.

A session on mixing feed using the NARI high and low en-ergy concentrates and sweet potato silage for feeding pigs

Lake Kutubu model farmers receive food security training

Participants of the Tambul training


Enabling smallholder livestock services in PNG S takeholders of a collabo-

rative project on livestock services in PNG deliberated on enhancing capacity build-ing and networking among key players in a bid to address common challenges faced by the subsector and improve livestock production in the country. A project meeting was held in NARI, Lae in March to identify key issues and fine-tune pro-ject activities. Livestock makes a significant contribution to the livelihoods and health of more than 600,000 smallholder farmers in PNG mainly through subsis-tence and small scale com-mercial production of pigs and poultry. Small ruminants, cattle and inland aquaculture play an increasing role in this sector. The food security and eco-nomic benef its from these livestock enterprises are con-strained by a lack of livestock health services and poor man-agement practices. Inade-quate housing and nutrition, poor reproduction, high mor-tality of young stock and poor access to rapidly emerging urban markets are consistent issues restricting productivity. Compounding the situation are the effects of HIV/AIDS on the labour market and an in-creased susceptibility to com-mon zoonotic conditions, thus adding to the disease burden of tuberc ulosis and malaria within smallholder farming communit ies. The project titled, ‘Enabling smallholder livestock services in PNG’, aims to build capacity and coordination within exist-ing networks and human re-sources to meet the PNG gov-ernment’s goal of a livestock production increase of 5% per annum. It also aims to show that by decreasing disease burden in livestock, improving coordina-

tion between the human health and animal health sec-tors and increasing available protein and livelihood income within farming communities, an impact can be made on disease burden within village communit ies. The specific objectives to be addressed by this project are: 1. Func tional smallholder

livestock health and pro-duction services with the purpose of producing an acceptable service delivery system that meets the needs of smallholders.

2. Better health and produc-tivity of smallholder com-munit ies with the purpose of improving smallholder livelihood and wellbeing.

3. Human capacity building with the purpose of in-creasing knowledge and skills of selected person-nel with part icular empha-sis on research scientists, para-v eterinarians and veterinary laboratory tech-nicians.

The study design involves a series of surveys followed by the implementation of a com-bination of smallholder pro-duction methods that have been developed in isolat ion to improve smallholder produc-tion efficiency and health. This holistic one health approach will be implemented at four

district level focal sites repre-sentative of the major small-holder production systems in the country. Imbedded into this methodology is a step-wise process of education and capacity building. The surveys are designed to obtain baseline data on farmer perceptions and needs both nationally and at the specific focus sites. Within the surveys information will be obtained on existing market chains, current service deliv-ery and traditional remedies. To verify the impact of the holistic intervention approach, a case-control study design will be implemented using case intervention villages and control non-intervention vil-lages where health and pro-duction parameters will be monitored and compared. The definition of “health”, in this context, is inclusive of human health and zoonotic diseases carried by animals and pro-vide a one health approach. Each collaborator has a spe-cific role in carrying out the methodology and meeting the objectives. NARI will lead the project to capture the experience in working with livestock owner groups. The Institute will be supported in health surveil-

lance and related activities by veterinarians and animal health officers from the Na-tional Agricultural and Quaran-tine Ins pec tion Authority (NAQIA) as well as livestock officers from the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) and Livestock Develop-ment Corporation (LDC) at national, regional, provincial and district levels. The PNG Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR) will assist in the monitoring of human disease burden and primary health and nutritional pa-rameters within the focus pro-ject sites. The University of Natural Re-sources and Environment (UNRE) will be supported in the development of para-veterinary training. Laboratory support capacity will be pro-vided and developed through NAQIA, PNGIMR, South Austra-lia Research and Develop-ment Institute (SARDI) and James Cook University (JCU). Research and development capacity in animal nutrition, animal health and other as-pects of husbandry and public health will be provided from JCU, PNGIMR, SARDI and NARI in collaboration with UNRE and the PNG University of Technology. The project will deliver meas-urable production increases (estimated at 5%/annum) in the smallholder sector by the end of the projected five to seven year lifespan, in line with the PNG Development Strategic Plan 2010 – 2030. The increased production will have direct economic benefits for the livestock owners and indirect benefits for human health as well as for allied industries, including the com-mercialisat ion and utilisat ion of plant by-products and waste, and development of the slaughter, packaging and transport industries.

Stakeholders who attended the project meeting at NARI Bubia.

A s part of capacity build-ing under the ACIAR pro-

ject ‘Identifying appropriate strategies for reducing virus and weevil losses in sweet potato production systems in PNG and Australia’, NARI pro-ject scientists, Amanda Mara-ruai and Anastasia Kawi un-dertook a two-week training course at Gatton research station, and Bunderberg re-search station in Queensland from 2 -15 December 2012. The purpose of the training was to advance skills in as-pects of the pathogen testing (PT) process such as ther-motherapy and virus indexing of sweet potato. The training also provided knowledge of sweet potato weevil control methods practiced in Australia

and an understanding of the Queensland sweet potato in-dustry. The scientists also helped develop a ‘Sweet Po-tato Weevil Monitoring Guide’ to be used in both countries. A further outcome of the visit was to partake in a planning meeting which was integral to the development and imple-mentation of the project. Acquiring skills from this train-ing will enable effective imple-mentation of the project. The project has two overall aims; firstly, to monitor the distribu-tion and population density of the weevil in major sweet po-tato growing areas in PNG’s Highlands provinces. Sec-ondly, to identify improved field control options and incor-porate it in an integrated pest

management (IPM) strategy for farmers to adapt into their cultivation practices to effec-tively manage serious infesta-tion of sweet potato weevil on their storage roots. Sweet potato weevils are a major pest of sweet potato storage roots (tubers) as well as crops growing in the field. Not only do they spoil the ap-pearance and marketability of sweet potato tubers, infested tubers can taste bitter and become less suitable as live-stock feed. Since weevils lay eggs and hide in the tubers and the stems, it is difficult to control them with chemical sprays. As a result from this training, a pretest survey was con-

ducted in the Eastern and Western Highlands provinces from the 13-21 January 2013, purposely to identify suitable sites for the upcoming quar-terly sweet potato weevil monitoring and record farm-ers knowledge of sweet po-tato weevil and other major pests of sweet potato. Suit-able sites have been identi-fied with an abundance of varied weevil population from Eastern, Western Highlands and Jiwaka provinces. The majority of the farmers com-mented knowing the damage caused by weevils were seri-ous during dry season and at harvest stage. However, there is limited knowledge relating to pest life cycle.

- Amanda Mararuai

Scientists trained on sweet potato pathogen testing process and weevil monitoring techniques

PICs trained to provide input to ISC P articipants from 10 Pacific Island

countries (Palau, Kiribati, Tonga, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Solomon Islands, Vanu-atu, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa), with varying backgrounds, recently at-tended a regional workshop on Invasive Species Compendium (ISC) hosted by Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Envi-ronment Programme (SPREP) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). The workshop held in Suva, Fiji was from 23-25 October, 2012. The ISC is the result of collaboration be-tween Agricultural Bureau International (CABI), USDA and an international devel-opment consort ium of over 30 organiza-tions from the government, development assistance and private sectors. In addi-tion, collaborations with expert organiza-tions include the European and Mediter-ranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO), the World Organization for Ani-mal Health (OIE), and the IUCN’s Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG). It is these organizations, represented by pol-icy makers attending and interfacing with CABI, that have guided the develop-ment of the ISC, and their contributions have ensured that the ISC meet the needs of their policies and regulatory environments.

Annastasia Kawi from NARI Highlands Regional Centre attended this workshop. The aim of the workshop is to; Learn about the global ISC, Understanding and exploring data

that is captured and its uses, Enable networking within reg ional

partners and how to contribute infor-mation to the Compendium.

Create a network of Trainer of train-ers (TOT) in respective countries to increased awareness and promote the use of CABI ISC.

The work on the compendium was funded by the European Commission under the project: Updating, maintaining and enhancing the Invasive Spec ies Compendium and was implemented by CABI to effectively improve the coverage in the Pacific region. There are two com-ponents under the three year project. Component 1. Sponsorship of a rep-

resentative organization of the Carib-bean to join the ISC Development Consortium

Component 2. Capacity building ac-tivities in Africa, Caribbean and Pa-cific to facilitate awareness, use, data enhancement and relevance.

This component included capacity build-ing workshops for professionals in their

respective fields who will be direct bene-ficiaries of this information resource: enhancing data coverage and promoting use in all ACP regions.

The ISC (www.cabi.org/isc) is an online encyclopaedic reference work covering recognition, biology, distribution, impact and management of the world’s invasive plants and animals. The Compendium provides access to over 75,000 biblio-graphic records, most of which contain abstracts and links to full text docu-ments, thus it is a fully open-access model, free at the point of use. This collection of bibliographic records is an invasive species-related sub-set of the CAB Abstracts database, which is the most comprehensive database on agri-culture and the environment in the world, containing over 8 million biblio-graphic records. Moreover, the compen-dia cover thousands of peer-reviewed expert contributors with a global cover-age of all invasive species, from every taxonomic group (excluding human pathogens). And it offers extensive, fast and easy navigation between text, im-ages, maps and databases. Coverage also includes analyses of pathways of introduction and of the risks posed by invasives to different habitats.


A group of women staff from the Momase Re-

gional Centre, Bubia and Labu, participated in the Women Arise sit-in-protest in Lae. The protest was held on 26 February 2013 at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium which attracted women from all works of life calling for an end to violence against women. The protest was especially sparked by the rape of a nurse of the Angau hospital who was returning home to East Taraka from night duty forcing hospital management to close hospital services until the perpetrators surrendered. The Woman Arise campaign is a proclamation by women of this nation to say ‘Enough is Enough’ to all forms of vio-lence against women (VAW) and urging for tougher laws to be enforced as a deterrent. A day before the sit-in-protest, interested staff met and dis-cussed the purpose of the protest and what it means to participate, that their partici-pation is not just a individual commitment, but that they are representing NARI and the faceless and voiceless women farmers who are NARI’s stake-holders. The group also decided on the message: STOP NAU LONG BAGARAPIM MERI, MIPELA LES PINIS (stop now from vio-lence against women, we’ve

had enough). Placards were made which the group took to the meeting. With the man-agement’s approv al, the group was transported to and from the venue in the NARI Bus. They also agreed to dress in black and white, black signifying death/end to VAW and white for freedom from violence. Red ribbons were worn to symbolise life. The gathering saw over 200 women staff of various busi-ness and corporate houses in Lae as well as stay-home mothers and young women. Many women spoke of their

concerns and experiences as victims of violence and how it is affecting the family and the community. A few men that were there, also spoke in sup-port or of their experiences. All the concerns were noted in a petit ion which was then pre-sented to the Minister for Re-ligion, Youth and Community Development and Lae MP, Loujaya Toni in the presence of Lae Metropolitan Superin-tendent Ivan Lakatani, anti-violence campaigners Esmie Sinapa, General Secretary of Red Cross PNG and Dr Angela Mandie-Filer. The petit ion collated and pre-sented by lead organiser Sarah Haoda-Todd called for all facets of society to recog-nise that barbaric acts of vio-lence on women is prevalent and must be stopped through: Enforcement of tougher

laws All institutions including

State Owned Enterprises, Private Sector and Devel-opment Partners to en-force Zero Tolerance on VAW in workplace policies,

Individuals being educated to know his/her rights and live within the parameters.

Upon receipt, Minister Toni commended Mrs Todd and the working group for organis-ing this important event in such a manner. She said experience has shown that with regards to

this issue, women must be rational; “We must act with our heads and not our hearts. Don’t be emotional. The past 37 years have shown that when we use our heart we hit the brick wall”, Mrs Toni said. She pledged to push for a Parliamentary Committee on VAW to be established and to revisit the Family and Sexual Violence Strategic Plan that was compiled by Dr Mandie-Filer. On behalf of the women that attended the event, it was enlightening to hear real is-sues being experienced and the will and determination of women to rise up above these circumstances to be consid-ered as equal partners in the development of Lae and cre-ate a better society. The group thanked the man-agement for the approval and facilitat ing their attendance which shows NARI’s support and commitment to gender equity and equality. The message they’ve come away with is that individually, we need to act against vio-lence and not be bystanders and condone violent behav-iours. The group also hopes the management will note the Woman Arise petition calling for Zero Tolerance on VAW to be reflected in the Institute’s policy as well.

- Barbara Tomi

NARI staff joins campaign to rid violence against women


Part of the crowd at the stadium

Violence against women - particu-larly by intimate partner and sex ual violence against women - are ma-jor public health p roblems and violations of women's human rights.

A WHO multi-country study found between 15-71% of women aged 15-49 years reported physical and/or sex ual violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lives.

These forms of violence can result

in physical, mental, sex ual, repro-ductive health problems, and in-crease vulnerability to HIV.

In many regions of the world long-standing customs put considerable pressure on women to accept abuse.

Situations of conflict, post conflict

and displacement may ex acerbate existing violence and present new forms of violence against women.

The group that participated in the protest

Key facts:

Stanley Chapman (right), a vegetable farmer at Bautama participat-ing in the survey


T he Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)

recently an-nounced the appointment of Inoke Ratu-kalou as its new Director of the Land Re-sources Divi-sion, based in Suva, Fiji. From Fiji, Mr Ratukalou, joined SPC in 2006 after an illustrious career with Fiji’s Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), spanning 26 years. He held several key posit ions in the ministry, leading to his appointment as Director of the Land Resources Planning and Development Division in 2002. He joined SPC as the Land Use and Resource Policy Ad-viser, with LRD’s Land Man-agement and Resource Policy Team in 2006. Mr Ratukalou brings with him a wealth of experience and expert ise. He has a degree in earth science and geography, a diploma in tropical agricul-ture, a post-graduate diploma in aerial photo-interpretation and remote sensing tech-niques, a post-graduate cer-tificate in management, and a master’s degree in busi-ness administration. His technical expertise is in land, agriculture and forestry development and manage-ment, and he has sound knowledge and understand-ing of land resource develop-ment challenges in the Pa-cific. Mr Ratukalou has been act-ing in the position of Director of the Land Resources Divi-sion since 2010, when the former director, Aleki Sisifa, left the organisation.

- www.vineshpacific@blogspot.

SPC appoints Land Resources

Director R ising cost of stock feed is considered a bottleneck

in commercialisation of small-holder livestock production in PNG. Between 2003 and 2012 alone, the retail prices of commercial broiler finisher, layer pellets and pig grower diets in Lae have increased between 55 and 115 per cent. Given that feed constitutes at least two thirds of cost of pro-duction of chicken meat, egg and pork production, the es-calating stock feed prices remains a major hindrance to active part icipation of small-holders in the fast expanding domestic market for meat and eggs. The NARI Livestock Pro-gramme has been exploring options for lower-cost feeding technolog ies that maximise use of local feed resources which have been developed, evaluated and released. These feeding systems en-abled smallholder farmers to blend appropriate proportions of boiled sweet potato or cas-sava tubers with formulated concentrates to make bal-anced diets for broilers, layer hens and growing pigs. These feeding options have been proven to be effective in sig-nificantly reducing the cost of feeds, even when the tubers are bought from local mar-kets. In most cases farmers can use sweet potato or cas-sava produced in their back-yards, which further cuts down the cost of feeding, and thereby improving profitability of the livestock enterprises. To further reduce these costs, NARI is conducting a mult i-institut ional collaborative re-search project aimed at pro-moting rural mini feed mills that can produce various for-mulat ions of balanced con-centrates and complete diets using largely local feed re-sources. The feed ingredients that can be processed in

these mini mills include agro-industrial by-products such as mill run, copra mill, fish meal, rice bran, palm kernel meal, meat meal, bone meal as well as available cereal and leg-ume grains. Imported pre-mixes are essential to make balanced diets. The project is considering alternative ways of establish-ing and managing mini feed mills at village level. One op-tion is to have the mills owned and operated at com-munity level in which trained technicians operate them as stand-alone business enter-prises, with members buying concentrate or complete diets at set prices. Mini mills can also be run as privately owned and run en-terprises. NGOs and other institut ions can also set up and manage such mills. Mini mills can use either electric or diesel engines. Key advan-tage of mini mills is that they can be set up in remote vil-lages. The Domil Integrated Commu-nity Development Cooperative Society in Jiwaka Province have demonstrated the ad-vantage of using mini mills to cut down cost of feed and allow subsistence farmers participate in profitable com-mercial growing of broilers

using cassava flour as the major ingredient in broiler finisher diets. This coopera-tive has been collaborating with NARI and partner institu-tions in this research project. Several other mini feed mills will be closely evaluated for their effectiveness and prof it-ability in the next two years in an effort to develop practical strategies for profitable use of mini feed mills. The National Fisheries Author-ity is partnering with NARI in this project to also serve needs of aquaculture farm-ers. Other partners on this project are the PNG University of Technology, Lutheran De-velopment Service, Christian Leaders Training College and Ok Tedi Development Founda-tion. In the long term, it is envis-aged that mini mills can play vital roles in enhancing the transformation of smallholder livestock production even in remote and marg inal areas by creating market opportuni-ties, generating local gainful employment, value addit ion to local produce and making quality animal products read-ily available at household and village markets.

- Fred Besari

Mini feed mills to boost livestock production


Mixing concentrate and cooked kaukau to feed poultry

Ratukalou


B rown Plant Hopper (BPH) is an important insect

pest of rice which farmers will have to live with in PNG al-though there are control methods, other than insecti-cides which farmers can use to reduce the pest’s intensity, a Japanese rice expert told a seminar in Lae.

Dr Masaya Matsumura of the Japan International Coopora-tion Agency (JICA), who con-ducted field surveys on the identification, occurrence and control of the pest in Morobe and Madang provinces early March with the support of local partners, said BPH is endemic in PNG. He said BHP is one of the three major rice planthoppers common in the Asia-Pacific Region - the oth-ers being w hitebac ked planthopper and small brown planthopper. The JICA team, together with scientists from the Depart-ment of Agriculture and Live-stock (DAL), ROC Taiwan and the NARI visited eight small-holder rice fields, three in Morobe and five in Madang. During the survey, the team observed that BPH was com-mon in all the eight sites with high density in farms that sprayed ins ecticides and

chemical fert ilizers, especially in the Markham area. At Kaiapit, the BPH impact, hop-perburn, was observed on the TCS10 rice variety during flow-ering stage and early harvest-ing was recommended for farmers. Dr Matsuruma said because

farmers were applying insecti-cides, BPH density was partly high. He said the survey team observed that the TCS 10 rice variety is highly susceptible to BPH. Miriam John of DAL said TCS-10, NARI released varieties (NARI 9 and 15) and local varieties (Finsch white and brown) are susceptible to BPH except NARI 1. Ms John said Madang farmers didn’t use insecticides or fertilizers but rather practiced shifting culti-vation and crop rotation which helped reduce BPH infesta-tions. TCS 10 was a common variety cultivated by Kaiapit farmers while local varieties (Finsch Brown and White) were com-mon in Madang. Dr Masaya Matsumura made the following suggestions for BPH control in PNG: Choosing resistant or tolerant

rice varieties Once BPH occurs in high

density, no other option is available to control BPH except insecticide spray or early harvesting. So, it is important to avoid to crop highly susceptible rice va-rieties.

Synchronized cropping

Transplant rice at the same time. If your fields have various stages of rice, BPH can move from one field to another.

Crop rotation

Crop rotat ion is effective to reduce population densi-ties of BPH because the host plant of BPH is only rice.

Monitor population density of BPH

It is important to monitor the population density of rice, especially on TSC 10 which is highly susceptible.

Avoid using insecticides and chemical fertilizers

Insecticides destroy natu-ral enemies and ecosys-tem of rice fields. Fertiliz-

ers increase not only yield but also BPH density.

Therefore it is advisable to avoid both. The seminar was delivered at NARI in Bubia following the field trips and was attended by staff of DAL, NARI, ROC Taiwan and Bris Kanda Inc. The team also observed symp-toms of Rice Ragged Stunt Virus transmitted by BPH on the TCS 10 variety in another farmer’s field in the Markham Valley. Annastasia Kawi, who was involved in the survey, said the exercise enhanced capac-ity building of local partici-pants in insect pest identifica-tion and increased knowledge on BPH’s biology, damage and taxonomic characteristics. She said they also acquired skills in recording microscopic images for reporting purposes and monitoring/s ampling techniques for BPH during outbreaks. Ms John said BPH has only one host plant, rice, and “that can be very destructive”.

Rice pest serious but manageable

JICA Rice Expert Dr Masaya Matsumura interviewing Markham rice farmers in March

The brown planthopper (BPH), Nila-parvata lugens (Stål) (Homoptera: Delphacidae), feeds on rice plants (Oryza sativa L.). BPH are among the most important pests of rice, and rice is the major staple crop for about half the world's population. They damage rice directly through feeding and also by transmitting two viruses, rice ragged stunt virus and rice grassy stunt virus. Up to 60% yield loss is common in susceptible rice cultivars attacked by BPH. The BPH are distributed in: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhuthan, Burma (Myanmaar), Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Ja-pan, North and South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Their host plant other than rice is Leersia hexandra. The brown plant hopper is dimorphic, with fully winged 'macropterous' and truncate-winged 'brachypterous' forms. The macropterous forms are potentially migrants and are responsible for colonizing new fields. After settling down on the rice plants, they produce the next generation in which most of the female insects develop as brachypters and males as macropters. Adults usually mate on the day of emergence, and the fe-males start laying eggs from the day following mating. Brachypterous females lay 300 to 350 eggs, while macropterous females lay fewer eggs. The eggs are thrust in a straight line generally along the mid-region of the leaf sheath. Eggs hatch in about six to nine days. The newly hatched nymphs are cottony white, and turn purple brown within an hour; they feed on plant sap. They undergo five instars to become adults.

P rotocols and procedures for the safe exchange of plant genetic resources

between three Western Pacific countries were reviewed and refined by stake-holders from PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu during a workshop at the NARI HQ in Lae from February 5-7, 2013. The three-day workshop was organised by NARI to encourage material transfer of genetic resources for the purposes of food security, research and breeding but within the limits of the required quaran-tine and legal frameworks. And such frameworks, agreements and practices were discussed and reviewed with coun-tries giving status reports on quarantine and intellectual property rights issues involved in PGR exchange. More than 20 part icipants including sen-ior executives, subject matter experts, research managers, legal experts and policy makers from quarantine authori-ties, research and development organi-zations, representatives of government and non-government organisations from the three countries attended. Among them were NARI Director General Dr Raghunath Ghodake; NARI Council Chairman Dr John Kola; Managing Direc-tor of National Agricultural and Quaran-tine Inspection Authority, Andrew Ya-manea; Solomon Island Ministry of Agri-culture and Livestock’s (MAL) Permanent Secretary, Frank Wickham; MAL Quaran-tine Director Francis Tsatsia; Vanuatu’s Director General for the Ministry of Agri-culture, Quarantine, Forestry and Fisher-ies (MAQFF) and MAQFF’s Quarantine Director Benuel Tarilongi.

Expected recommendations: 1. Material transfer agreement (MTA) documents between PNG, Solomon Is-lands and Vanuatu: Review of various MTAs Current status of existing MTAs in

PNG, SI and VU Refinement of and adoption appropri-

ate MTA(s) 2. Resolving Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues involved in PGR exchange: Review of IPR issues Current status of such issues in PNG,

SI and VU Refinement of IPR issues, as needed 3. Agree on quarantine issues for safe exchange of material: Review of quarantine procedures Current quarantine procedures fol-

lowed in PNG, SI and VU Refinement of quarantine procedures for safe exchange of PGRs 4. Indexing of material/testing for patho-gens, facilities and techniques for safe exchange: Review and understanding of proce-

dures in indexing material and testing of pathogens

Current procedures followed in three countries for indexing material and testing of pathogens including facili-ties available and techniques used

Refinement of procedures for safe exchange of PGRs in SI, VU and PNG

The workshop ended with the develop-ment of a draft MTA document for the exchange of PGR materials between the three countries. The draft was accepted

by representatives who participated in the workshop. Other organisations that participated were the Business Council of PNG and Intellectual Property Office (PNG); Minis-try of Environment and Conservation (Solomon Island); Department of Agricul-ture and Rural Development, and Vanu-atu Agriculture Research and Technical Centre (Vanuatu). Biosecurity experts from the Secretariat of the Pacific Com-munity also attended to share their ex-periences on PGR material cleansing and transfer between Pacific countries and international partners. The workshop was part of a project on “Capacity Development in Conservation and Utilizat ion of Invaluable Plant Ge-netic Resources in Western Pacific Coun-tries”, under the EU financed Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) Science and Technology Programme. The project is designed to enhance the human resource capacity in PGR collec-tion and maintenance, characterisation and evaluation, conservation, pre-breeding techniques and procedures, screening and evaluation and finally utili-sation of PGRs in crop breeding. It is part of three ACP projects undertaken in the three countries to build the human resource capacity needed for high cali-ber agricultural research in the Western Pacific region to enhance productivity, efficiency and sustainability of the small-holder agricultural sector.

- www.nari.org.pg


Participants from the various organisations in the Western Pacific region who attended the workshop

Experts meet on safe exchange of genetic resources


I s agricultural R&D on the decline in the

developing world? Is the public sector taking up the work? And how de-pendable is funding, in good and bad economic times? A new Global Assessment of Agricul-tural R&D, undertaken by the Agricultural Sci-ence and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initia-tive as an input to GCARD2 has provided data to inform the de-bates and brought up some surprising num-bers, challenging con-ventional wisdom on the direction of investments in the future of agricul-ture. A full set of primary data for the years 2000 to 2008 has been an eye-opener, in particular, for participants who believed that invest-ments in the developing world had been slowing down. "ASTI proved the opposite to be true," says ASTI programme head Nienke Bein-tema. "Developing countries have been driving global public R&D investment growth since 2000. However, much of this growth is driven by a number of the larger, more advanced middle-income countries, while investments in many of the poorest countries are stagnating or declining." In fact, global public spending rose 22% during the period, boosting research and development after slow growth in the 1990s. And by 2008 this spending was split almost evenly between developed and developing countries. In high-income countries, the annual growth of public investment continued to decline from its 1980s peak and dropped to near zero after 2005. It was accelerated spending by China and India that accounted for close to half of the US$5.6 billion global increase. Argentina, Brazil, Iran, Nigeria and Rus-sia each contributed another 3 to 4%. Massive investment in R&D by these middle-income rising powers will be sig-nificant to farmers' futures, but the num-bers do hide negative trends in many smaller and poorer states. The assessment's 31 low-income coun-tries together accounted for only 3% of public spending, just as they did in 1981. This is despite the fact that their share of the population had risen by 4%.

And the true diff iculties of R&D in low income countries come out in the measures of spending volatility. Most often de-pendent on short-term grants from donors, spending is twice as vola-tile as in high income countries, making sus-tained support of re-search and development agendas very difficult to achieve. A private future? Amid uncertain public financing and the enor-mous research costs of new technologies like transgenic crops, one widespread view is that the private sector is tak-

ing over much of the work of agricultural R&D. ASTI's Global Assessment does

show that private investment in this area rose 26% from 2000-2008, and more than a fifth of all spending worldwide is now private. However, most of this US$18.2 billion in private R&D is spent by companies in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develop-ment (OECD), and more than half is on food processing and product develop-ment, which are considered manufactur-ing rather than agricultural sector con-cerns. ASTI programme coordinator, Gert-Jan Stads notes that its relevance to the world's poor remains limited. "The role of the private sector in agricul-tural R& D has certainly increased in a number of emerging economies, includ-ing China, India, and Brazil. But much of the private sector's research is on export commodities or high-value seed. Food security and nutrition issues firmly re-main in the domain of the public sector. Although the role of the private sector has increased over the years, agricul-

tural R&D in the developing world re-mains a predominantly public affair." Beyond 2008 Beintema, Stads and their team had the pleasure of seeing their analysis bear fruit at GCARD2. "The key messages from ASTI featured prominently in a large number of discussions and presenta-tions at GCARD," Beintema says. "We believe that ASTI successfully managed to change the widespread perception among GCARD participants that growth in agricultural R&D investments in the developing world was declining." The full dataset for 179 countries, com-plete with graphs and tables, has been made available at www.asti.cgiar.org/globaloverview, where it will continue to inform decisions. ASTI now hopes to bring the assessment up to 2012 in time for the next GCARD. New rounds of data collection have already begun in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Central Asia, other regions will soon follow, how-ever, depending funding availability.

One big question that will have many looking to the 2008-2012 data is the impact of the global economic crisis, which has broad implicat ions for both public and private spending. But Bein-tema cautions that it is too early to say how, or if, this might show up in the data.

- New Agriculturalist

The new world map of agricultural R&D investment

Is agricultural R&D on the decline in the developing world?

Between 2000 and 2008, global pub-lic spending rose 22%

Is the private sector taking over much of the work of agricultural

Agricultural R&D in the developing world remains a predominantly public affair


I nstitutions and policy mat-ter. They determine to what

extent smallholders are able to benefit from markets and gain a reasonable living. But decision-making surrounding these policies is often biased towards the interests of con-sumers or agribusiness com-panies, as they are able to better art iculate their de-mands and reconcile interests in national and regional politi-cal arenas. Even when pro-ducers have influence, small-holder interests have litt le weight compared to the inter-ests of larger and often more vocal commercial farmers. Raising the voice of small-holders will help to re-balance these policies and interven-tions: more enabling policies and better functioning institu-tions in markets can provide incentives for smallholders to invest in their farms and value-adding activities, and, by do-ing so, structurally improve mid-term food security and contribute to rural economic development and the reduc-tion of poverty. Research gap Discussion at the Second Global Conference on Agricul-tural Research for Develop-ment (GCARD2) addressed the need for smallholder friendly policies. Issues dis-cussed included the impor-tance of institutional arrange-ments to reduce risks in mar-ket chain transactions, the skills and capacit ies needed by smallholders and their sup-porting institutions, reducing administrative and tax barri-ers to market access, and

reducing inequalities in power and policy voice on invest-ment priorit ies and relevant research agendas. Research has a central role to play but there is a gap be-tween the research commu-nity and farmer organisations. Within researc h organisations, there are strong incentives to focus on methods instead of problems, and on publication of research in peer-reviewed articles instead of accessible, easy-to-read material. Farmer organisations need research findings that can be easily used to influence policy mak-ers or inform their members, and, as farmer organisations tend to function in an ex-tremely dynamic and demand-ing policy environment, their priorities for research tend to change quite rapidly. In spite of the good intentions of many researchers and research or-ganisations and a willingness on both sides to join forces, work that bridges the gap be-tween the research commu-nity and farmer organisations is rare.

Empowering farmers One example of where this does occur is the Empowering Smallholder Farmers in Mar-kets (ESFIM) programme that is working across 10 countries in Africa, South America and the Philippines to strengthen collaborative, farmer organisa-tion-led research for advo-cacy. ESFIM facilitates de-mand-driven research that is support ive of the policy priori-ties and advocacy capacities of national farmers' organisa-tions.

Implemented by the European research platform AGRINA-TURA, and led by Wageningen University and Research Cen-tre in the Netherlands, ESFIM has recently completed its second phase (2009-2012) and at GCARD2, several farmer organisation represen-tatives explained how they have developed collective action and used evidence-based advocacy to call for change in policies and institu-tional arrangements. Cooperatives: speaking with a louder voice For example, the Junta Na-cional de Café (JNC), in Peru, managed to refocus the lobby agenda of the multi stake-holder platform CONVEAGRO (La Convención Nacional del Agro Peruano) in favour of key issues that affect small-holder's access to markets, including: the problem of tax-ing smallholder cooperatives; administrative hurdles that prevent access to government procurement for school feed-ing programmes; access of farmer organisations to re-gional investment funds; and policies that define how 'quality' is measured for agri-cultural produce. In Uruguay, the Federation of Agric ultural Cooperativ es (CAF) has focused their re-search on the constraints in innovation capacity within the cooperative sector. While hav-ing an important role within a vibrant agricultural scene, the cooperative sector is decreas-ing in inf luence, as traditional economic services (input sup-ply, storage and marketing) are increasingly delivered through contract farming ar-rangements by corporate food companies. Contracted re-searchers and specialists in agriculture, livestock and dairy helped CAF to focus on the strategic innovation chal-lenges in each sector and ar-eas where cooperatives need to upgrade their capacities in order to catch up with com-

petitors. Building on this work, an advocacy event was held within the Parliament that increased the visibility of CAF as a representative organisa-tion of smallholder farmers. Costa Rica faces increasing competition with other coun-

tries due to regional and inter-national economic integration. Small farmers, in particular are confronted by constraints in marketing their produce and farmer organisations are struggling to def ine a common agenda and negotiate with the Government to create a con-ducive environment for small farmers' access to markets. Organised by the rural women organisation, CMC, an ESFIM national workshop enabled various stakeholders (national and regional farmer organisa-tions and technical depart-ments from Government min-istries) to analyse the current situation and identify issues relating to production costs, extension, legislation regard-ing (inter)national trade, and market regulat ion and fi-nance. Better enabling policies and institut ions that provide incen-tives for smallholders to invest enhance livelihoods, improve food security in rural and ur-ban areas, and contribute to rural economic development. National farmer organisations remain one of the best institu-tional structures to enable the inclusion of most marginalised farmers into national and re-gional policy dialogue.

- New Agriculturalist

Empowering farmers for market advocacy

Raising the voice of small-holders will help to re-balance policies and inter-ventions

ESFIM will facilitate the ex-change of experiences be-tween more and less experi-enced national farmer or-ganisations

GCARD2 addressed the need for smallholder friendly poli-cies

T he Southern Regional Centre at Laloki is work-

ing in partners hip with the National Department of Agri-culture and Livestock Land Use branch in a Food Security Pilot Project in Kivori near Bereina, Central province. The project coordinated by Office of Climate Change and Development and is funded by Secretariat of the Pacific Com-munity and German Gesell-schaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit in close partnership with the Secre-tariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the University of the South Pacific. The project was estab-lished in April 2012 to assist communit ies around Kivori to be food secure. The project aims to prepare Pacific Island Countries (PICs) from impacts brought on by

climate change. This is be-cause PICs are among the most vulnerable to climate change impacts, and there is an urgent need for immediate intervention with adaptation and mitigation measures in the region. Food Security of the PICs will be directly af-fected due to unfavorable weather (prolonged drought/

flooding), rising sea level (salinity), and pest and dis-eases outbreaks (high inci-dences). The project team at Laloki revisited the site in February 2013 to assess the damage caused by heavy rain and flooding in the area and re-plant crops at the appointed

multiplication sites, supervise the setting up of a wire fence around the project’s main garden and to supply addi-tional gardening tools. Planting materials supplied from SRC Laloki included: NARI Taro suckers – NT1 (100), NT2 (100), NT3 (80) and NT4 (80). All the taro suckers were transplanted at Kivori Kui garden site. Sweet potato vines – 60 vines/tips were supplied for accessions/varieties, BU-11, SI-85, L-153, SI-41, SI-278, Sog-1, Siwae, K-9, DOY-2 and RAB-46. Cassava sticks – 80 sticks each of cassava varieties L-6, L- 51, L-86 and L-92 were planted at Kivori Kui. African Yam mini-setts – 13 yam mini setts were supplied and transplanted at Kivori Kui. Local yams (D. esculenta & D. alata) – Yam tubers number-ing between 10 to 20 per vari-ety/accessions of 10 yam variet ies/ acc essions were supplied to Kivori Kui. These yams were yet to be planted at a new site along the hills near the project site (garden). Corn seeds – 3kg of corn seeds- open pollinated variety was supplied. Rice – 3kg of NR1 rice seeds was planted. Kivori Kui multiplication site The site is about 10-15 min-utes walk to the foot hills. The land is flat and generally cov-ered with kunai grass (savannah) and surrounded by bamboo and lowland for-est, black clay soils, with nearby water source. Area available is about 3 hectares. According to the locals, the wet-season runs from Decem-ber to April. The dry season will commence in May. The field will need proper drainage system in order to be fully utilised especially when the wet season sets in.

Some of our titles

Information Booklets

Technical Bulletins Workshop Proceedings Extension Booklet Series

To fulfill NARI’s mandate and meet information needs of farmers and stakeholders on agricultural research and development NARI produces a wide range of publications, including information bul-letins, extension booklets and simple leaflets called TokToks. If you would like a copy of any of these publications or a catalogue, contact our Regional Centre information offices. Their contacts are on the back of this newsletter. Visit our website at www.nari.org.pg to get a copy of our publications catalogue.

Kivori Food Security pilot project


NEW

This is what the multiplication site at Kivori Kui looked like when the project team visited in February. Photo: James

Corporate Publications

T wo staff from the South-ern Regional Centre and

Highlands Regional Centre recently took part in a study tour to understand value chain and agronomy of vege-table production, using Tas-manian production practices as a model from 9 – 24 Feb-ruary 2013. The tour involved research consultations and training at the Institute in Hobart (University of Tasmania Sandy Bay Campus) and Burnie (Cuthbertson Agricul-tural Laboratories, Cradle Coast Campus, Burnie). The consultations also involved field visits to vegetable pro-ducing areas in north west Tasmania, fresh vegetable packers and other value chain aspects in the area. Dickson Benny and Enopa Lindsay were part of the five-man tour which was funded by ACIAR. The other partici-pants inc luded another Papua New Guinean and two Vietnamese. Integrated activities for the two weeks included spending the first week in Hobart and the second week in Burnie (320km north of Hobart). Value chain analysis with special emphasis on market-ing was one of the core dis-cussions. Inspections of ex-emplar value chains were made to orchards farms south of Hobart. Training at the Tasmania Institute of Agriculture (TIA) included theoretical and practical in-troduction to agronomy and soils of Tasmania. The study involved tours to the UTas Farm, Bejo seeds production facility where soils improvement and other activities of soil are taking place to improve seed pro-duction.

The second week activities in Burnie involved field visits to North West vegetable farms; Premium fres h, Webster fresh and Field fresh. These are large farms that are di-rectly involved in the produc-tion of vegetables, which are one of the aspects of supply chain. Visits to other aspects of the supply chain were also made to vegetable process-ers – Harvest Moon© and Simplot©. Since individual farmers are part of the sup-ply chain, field visits were made to their farms to heed their experience. There were many notable and interesting things that were acquired from the tour both through theory and on field practices. The foremost experience was the supply and value chain of the different vegetables. The supply chain in Tasmania (or Australia) is more organised and controlled where differ-ent players and aspects of the chain participate in a well organized manner. This im-plies that tools such as com-munic ation, information sharing of products, etc., between each player in the

supply chain is structured in a way that all the players along the chain are in one way or another, are satisfied. This was verified by visiting and observing everything from production to retailing. Lessons learnt from the training will be very handy in a sense that supply chain, value chain, value chain analysis and value chain management is a very inno-vative discipline and every time we practice it, we will able to add to our stock of knowledge on how the chain operates. For instance, value chain is part of food system, due to the fact that it pro-vides a new competitive envi-ronment for developing food production. Thus, it is very important to the agricultural industry. According to Mr Benny, an economist at SRC Laloki, this training provided valuable insight into consumer prefer-ence and the functions of value chains associated with the Tasmanian vegetable Industry and are relevant to the agriculture industry in PNG.

- Dickson Benny

Staff learn importance of value chain in vegetable production

Mr. Laurie Fooks – Programme Director – Information & Knowl-edge based at HQ Mr. John Wamine – Principal Accountant/Internal Auditor Mr. Chesly Kobua – Cadet – Rice & Grain based at Bubia Mr. Tai Kui – Cadet – Soils & Water management based at Aiyura

Mr. Eleo Dowa – Post Graduate Diploma in Agriculture Mr. Fred Besari – Post Gradu-ate Diploma in Agriculture

Ms. Janet Pandi (PhD) – Univer-sity of Adelaide, Australia Mr. Michael Dom (MSc) - Uni-versity of Adelaide, Australia Mr. Joshua Ryan (MSc) – Aus-tralian National University Ms. Sainian Tabua-Tobel (Dip. In Management) – Divine Word University, Madang

Mr. Samuel Las – Human Re-source Associate Mr. Samuel Kehatsin – Informa-tion & Communication Officer

Human resource update

Recruitment

Departures

Off to Training

Visiting the TIA Vegetable Centre at Forth Tasmania are (from left), Hoang Thanh Tung , Le Quoc Anh, of Vietnam, Enopa Lindsay, Pus Wesis, and Dickson Benny of PNG

Returned from Studies

NOTICE to NARI STAFF

We’d appreciate your contribu-tions of events happening in the respective Regional Centres in

the next issue of NARI Nius. This can be about scheduled training, field days, village ex-

tension or project activities, etc. We look forward to many contri-

butions from you in 2013.


RESEARCH CENTRE’S CONTACTS Head Office Kana Aburu Haus-Sir Alkan Tololo Research Centre PO Box 4415 LAE Morobe Province Ph: 475 1444/5 Fax: 475 1450 Email: [email protected]

We’re on the web

www.nari.org.pg

Working Towards Prosperous PNG Agricultural Communities

Momase Regional Centre, Bubia Sir Alkan Tololo Research Centre P.O Box 1639 LAE Morobe Province Ph: 475 1033/90 Fax: 475 1034 Email: [email protected]

Momase Regional Centre, Labu Sir Alkan Tololo Research Centre P.O. Box 1639 LAE Morobe Province Ph: 475 1066 Fax: 475 1248 Email: [email protected]

Islands Regional Centre, Keravat P.O. Box 204 KOKOPO East New Britain Province Ph: 983 9145/9200 Fax: 983 9129 Email: [email protected]

Southern Regional Centre, Laloki P.O. Box 1828 PORT MORESBY National Capital District Ph: 328 1015/323 5511 Fax: 323 4733 Email: [email protected]

Highlands Regional Centre, Aiyura P.O. Box 384 KAINANTU Eastern Highlands Province Ph: 537 3500 Fax: 537 3516 Email: [email protected]

Highlands Regional Centre, Tambul P.O. Box 120 MT HAGEN Western Highlands Province Ph: 542 3443/ 275 5131/ 275 5130 Fax: 542 2779 Email: [email protected]

Southern Regional Centre, Kilakila Chemistry Laboratory P.O. Box 8277 BOROKO National Capital District Ph: 321 2690 Fax: 320 2411 Email: [email protected]

National Agricultural Research Ins titute, Head Office, Kana Abur u Haus , Sir Al kan Tololo Research Centre, Information and Knowledge Programme, PO Box 4415, LAE, Morobe Provi nce. Papua New Gui nea. Tel: (675) 475 1444 Fax: (675) 475 1450, Email: [email protected]

To:

NARI Nius is published quarterly by the Information and Know ledge Programme

Editor: Barbara Tomi Contributions: NARI Staff Design and Layout: Barbara Tomi Printing and Distribution: Kumaino Wioga If you wish to receive an electronic copy of the newsletter, send your request to [email protected]

Southern Regional Centre - Kilakila Insectory P.O. Box 1691 BOROKO National Capital District Ph: 321 0218 Fax: 320 2411 Email: [email protected]

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