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

DAL ready to support farmers in Central Province ….. 1,2 Editorial Central Province farmers seek DAL support 3 Agriculture institution helps transport bulb Onion to markets in city. 3,4 Induction Course for DAL Officers 4,5 DAL & Stakeholders meet to discuss draft PNG National Food Security Policy 6 PNG Church Partnership Program El Nino Response Showcased in Fiji 6,7 Growing Rice Seeds in the backyard 7 Agriculture sector to benefit through E-agriculture. 8,9 First Pacific Food Security Cluster Forum 10 PNG Highlands El Nino response lesson Learned Workshop. 11 Condolence Message 12

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Farmers in the Vanapa area of Central province are keen to grow taro and other potential crops after a recent visit by officers from the Depart-ment of Agriculture and Livestock.

The farmers who own agricultural blocks in Kuriva, Vanapa in the Kairuku-Hiri District say they have good farming land but lack resources, funding and technical assistance.

One of them, a former government officer who served with the postal and tel-ecommunication corporation, Abraham Yariyari, told the visiting DAL team that he wants to utilize the land and is determined to venture into potential activities such as food crops, livestock, aquaculture and even agri-tourism.

Mr Yariyari, who owns 11 ha, said he established the Kuriva Eco Integrated Farming group, and has approached various government agencies including DAL to seek assistance with funding and resources. He has already tried coffee farming and vegetable farming but wants to make attempts at other viable crops including taro.

Mr Yariyari was excited when the DAL team led by the deputy secretary for corporate services, Mr Stephen Mesa, three directors and several officers trav-elled to Kuriva, Vanapa, to inspect the site and hand over planting materials es-pecially taro. The team included those involved in food security, rice, science and technology, land use, livestock, information and others.

DAL ready to support farmers in Central province

Left: Mr Yariyari (fourth from left) is all smiles after receiving taro suckers from Mr Mesa (fifth from left) and DAL team. Top: Mr Mesa, a taro expert, makes a point to Mr Yariyari after planting a taro sucker.

2 AGR IC UL TUR E N IUS VO L UME 38, ISSUE 4, MAY -JUN E, 2017

AI & PB Going to great lengths to provide Information

EDITORIAL Welcome readers to this M a r c h —

April issue of the Agriculture Nius. We

try to keep you updated with all the

latest news and information on agricul-

ture in the Department and the sector.

If you have a story you tell, please send

it to the contacts provided below. Hap-

py reading!

Agriculture Nius is produced by the

Public Relations and Media Unit and

the Information and Publications

Branch of the Department of Agricul-

ture and Livestock (DAL).

Managing Editor: Nicks Maniha

Editors: Nicks Maniha

: 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,

PORT MORESBY,

National Capital District.

Email: sburuka@gmail.com, or

nicksmaniha60@gmail.com

bsiwaka44@gmail.com

Mr Mesa is all smiles after assisting Mr Yariyari to plant a few taro suckers in his farm.

He said the presence of the high profile DAL team was a big boost to his family and other nearby farmers as it indicates the sup-port from the government to help farmers in the rural communities to utilize the idle land for agriculture farming. He secured the land at Kuriva some 17 years ago and despite many struggles, he believes in agriculture and has not given up.

Mr Yariyari thanked the DAL team for the taro planting material and said he looked forward to further technical assistance on how to develop taro and market the product in the city and elsewhere. He is also hopeful that through DAL he can get more assistance in terms of sourcing funding and further expanding his farm to include other ac-tivities especially in food crops, mushroom, spices, piggery, ducks, poultry, and also establish an agriculture resource centre, as well a picnic spot for travellers who wish to relax at riverside.

Mr Mesa, Southern regional director, Mr Leka Mou, Science and Technology director, Mr Ian Onaga, and other officers told Mr Yari-yari that he was in a good location, with good soil for farming, and with access to markets, and should utilize the land fully to benefit his family.

They told him that he can grow taro on a larger scale and become a major taro producer and seller to city markets and even to other centres.

Mr Mesa told Mr Yariyari that at one stage he was coordinator of the European Union-funded Development of Sustainable Agriculture Project (DSAP) which promoted taro in PNG, and the team that was involved have valuable knowledge and skills to pass onto potential taro growers.

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Farmers in the highlands region are excited about getting their locally grown bulb onion to markets in the nation’s capital, Port Moresby.

An arrangement is in place for farmers, especial-ly from Chimbu, Western and Eastern Highlands provinces to have their bulb onion transported to the city, thanks to the Kome Agriculture Services Lim-ited (KASL).

Recently, a container shipment arrived in Port Moresby loaded with 365 bags, weighing around 9 tonnes, with bulb onion from the three provinces. This was by far the biggest shipment by the KASL

under its bulb onion and garlic commercialization project.

The Simbu Farmers Marketing Limited, a busi-ness arm of the Simbu Provincial Government, re-ceived a payment of K35,280, for the shipment.

SFML manager, Morris Kaupa, who accepted the cheque from KASL principal, John Mebil, thanked the KASL and Mebil for helping small farmers in the highlands region through arranging for the pur-chase and transportation of locally grown bulb on-ion to secured markets in the nation’s capital. He said farmers in the rural communities were happy

Agriculture institution helps transport bulb onion to markets in city

Department of Agriculture and Livestock of-ficers recently visited Central Province farmers to discuss small-scale integrated farming activi-ties.

Several officers travelled to Gomore village in the Rigo District and held meetings with farmers who expressed interest in agriculture farming.

Farmers led by Gideon Manz and his family told the DAL team that many farmers were keen to go into small-scale farming but they lacked the agricul-ture expertise and skills.

Mr Manz said farmers had access to suitable land and did normal subsistence gardening, however, many wanted to venture into farming of food crops and raising livestock such as pigs and poultry in or-der to earn reasonable cash income. He said farmers needed to be taught about innovative farming tech-nology and how to use that technology to improve

their farming knowledge and skills. He said village people knew about subsist-ence farming but now it is time to learn about new methodologies.

With the support of Umene clan lead-er and land owner Mr Albert Meda, the Manz family approached the DAL with a proposal to set up a Village Model Farm integrating food crops (cassava, banana, taro, sweet potato, yam) and livestock (especially chicken and pig-gery).

The DAL inspected the site and held discussions with the Manz family and other farmers and advised them that DAL technical team in collaboration with the Central Provincial Administra-

tion will prepare a project proposal on the possibil-ity of establishing the integrated village model farm.

Team leader and Director DAL Southern Region Mr Leka Mou said such initiatives by farmers them-selves is the way forward for agriculture develop-ment and not only for DAL, Central Province agri-culture division and other agencies to tell them what to do. Mr Mou said this will be a good opportunity for the relevant agencies to work together in provid-ing technical advice and other assistance in all as-pects of agriculture farming activities.

Other DAL officers who participated in the Go-more field trip included Mr Ian Mesibere, chief stra-tegic advisor with DAL Policy and Planning, Mr Nicks Maniha, Director of Information, DAL, Mr Goru Babona, DAL Southern chief crops advisor, Mr Joseph Nou, DAL Southern chief livestock advi-sor.

Central Province farmers seek DAL support

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AI & PB Going to great lengths to provide Information

agency of the agriculture sector plays a significant role in policy development and in providing technical advi-sory support in agriculture and rural development and as an employer it had a mandatory responsibility in providing quality services to farming families, com-munities and the industries.

However, public servants have been criticised for low standards of performance and failure in service delivery over the years.

“It begins with how we are induced, mentored as civil servants and our commitment from deep within as the servants of the people and of this country.

“In the agriculture sector, if we get things right from the start, the 6.7 million citizens we regard as farmers who depend on the agriculture sector will be better served.”

The Inductees were urged to fully participate in the course and learn as much as they could to enable them to effectively perform their duties regardless of the

The Department of Agriculture and Livestock successfully conducted a week-long in-house Induc-tion course for its officers in Port Moresby from 19th June to 23rd June, 2017.

The Induction course was officially opened on be-half of the Secretary for DAL, Dr. Vele Pat Ila’ava by Deputy Secretary for Corporate Services Division, Mr Stephen Mesa and closed by the Deputy Secretary for Policy and Planning, Mr Francis Daink on the final day.

A total of 48 probationary officers of the Depart-ment successfully completed the week-long Induction course and were presented with certificates and wel-comed into the Department. The officers included, mostly new officers who were successfully recruited and appointed and others who were reappointed to their previous positions they had applied for after re-signing.

The inductees were reminded that DAL as a lead

Induction Course for DAL Officers

that someone is willing to go and purchase their bulb onion and arrange for transport to bring the produce to the market. He said the farmers looked forward to similar opportunities in the future.

Mr Mebil said the arrangement was in place to ensure that farmers do not spend excessive amounts in transport and other costs. Farmers can benefit by participating in this arrangement with KASL and he expected to see similar arrangements on a regular basis. He said also that a bulb onion dryer is ex-pected from overseas to assist the farmers.

Mr Kaupa, said the key players including the Simbu Farmers’ Cooperative, were happy to be part of the arrangement as it provides a good opportunity

for farmers to sell their bulb onion.

Farmers in Simbu have tried other high-value crops like broccoli, cauli-flower, and strawberries but found that freight costs to airlift them to Port Mo-resby through Mt Hagen and Goroka was very high, while their only airstrip in Kundiawa was under maintenance. So they went into bulb onion produc-tion because bulb onion can withstand the harsh road conditions along the rug-ged terrains. Despite the difficulties experienced they have persevered and have been able to market their bulb on-ions for the past three years.

Mr Kaupa said he met and discussed the arrangement with Mr Mebil and believed that it is a win-win situation for all the parties involved. It means that farmers will have cash without

having to spend a lot in freight and transport costs.

“I really want to work with people like John Me-bil who have a heart for this industry. I am happy and I look forward to doing business with the Port Moresby based institution.”

Kome Agriculture Services Limited (KASL) is the parent company of the newly launched Agricul-ture Cooperative College, which initially started as Port Moresby Farmer Training Centre located at 12 Mile along the Sogeri road. The college is providing farmer training opportunities for those interested in pursuing a career in agriculture farming.

John Mebil (second left, hat) discusses the planned shipment over sample bulb onion, with Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare and Bulolo MP Sam Basil, during the launch-ing of his agriculture college earlier this year.

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VO L UME 38, ISSUE 4, MAY—JUN E, 2017 AGRICULTURE NIUS, 5

position they were recruited into to transform the De-partment and make a difference in the public service.

Mesa told the participants that the induction course was a requirement under the Public Service General Orders for probationary or newly recruited or appoint-ed officers must complete before becoming a perma-nent public servant.

He said the aim of the course was to introduce them to specific information necessary to assist them to ad-just to their new jobs in the Department and help them become familiar with their new work environment and the people around them and the rules of engagement as a public servant.

Some of the induction topics included; How the Public Service machinery works; various functions and mandates of some important organizations such as the Department of Personnel Management and the Public Services Commission and others; obligations and privileges as an employee of the Department and public service; channel of communication and chain of command in the workforce (this I must stress that it is a major problem in many other state agencies includ-ing DAL).

Mesa said the last induction course for DAL staff was conducted in 2014 and the current induction course was overdue for almost over a decade. He therefore, acknowledged the Acting Director of Agri-culture Education and Training Branch, Mr Jacob Pin-dae and his staff for their input in making the DAL Induction programme a reality.

Mesa said the last induction course for DAL staff was conducted in 2014 and the current induction course was overdue for almost over a decade adding that similar induction courses are expected to be con-

Left to Right; Alu Daniel, Jackson, and Geno Geno, receiving their Induction Course certificates from Mr Francis Daink, Deputy Secretary Policy and Planning Division.

ducted in two other locations, including, Kokopo for the New Guinea Islands region in July, and the third one in Goroka for the Highlands and Momase regions combined, in August this year.

During the closing session of the week-long Induc-tion course and presentation of certificates, Mr Daink, congratulated and welcomed the Inductees including, those who were reappointed after resignation, back into the Department. He told them that they were for-tunate to be recruited and appointed to their positions based on their academic qualifications and their work experiences. As probationary officers the induction course they had completed was one of the steps in be-coming a public servant.

“It does not matter what position you have been recruited into, you are regarded as an important mem-ber of the Department and the public service as a whole.”

“I believe you have learned sufficient information from the Inductors regarding the requirements and ex-pectations of you as public servants. I urge you all to use these useful information or knowledge as guides in your day to day performance of duties in the De-partment of agriculture and Livestock and the Public Service.

The Induction course was internally organised and facilitated by senior and long serving DAL staff of Training and Human resource branches of the Depart-ment, with contributions from Department of Person-nel Management and others.

For more information, please contact DAL Infor-mation Branch or, Busisi Siwaka on phone number: 75442398 or, email: bsiwaka44@gmail.com

AI & PB Going to great lengths to provide Information

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A consultative workshop was held last week to discuss the final draft of the PNG National Food Security Policy (2017-2026).

The Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organized the workshop for stakeholders to meet and discuss the development of an implemen-tation action plan.

Officials from DAL, FAO, Department of Na-tional Planning and Monitoring, Climate Change and Development Authority, World Food Pro-gramme (WFP), Australian High Commission, World Bank, and UNICEF participated in the work-shop.

DAL in partnership and support from FAO reviewed the PNG National Food Security Policy (2000-2010) and came up with the revised draft which has been distribut-ed for comments and input from stakeholders.

DAL senior management believe that the PNG Na-tional Food Security Policy (2015-2026) charts a path-way to sustainable food security and to realizing the PNG Vision 2050 and the target for food and nutrition security. The successful implementation of the policy will contribute towards improving the lives of the major-ity of people, enhancing their productivity and participa-tion in the sustainable development of the country through growing agriculture for food security, good nu-trition and health.

The workshop last week was held to brief the key stakeholders on the development of the action plan. Par-ticipants discussed the Food Security Police Framework, Linkages with other Policies, Coordination, Key stake-holders, setting up of steering committee, planning at provincial level, planning process and timeframe.

UNICEF official, Ms Hanifa Numusoke, a nutrition specialist, also briefed the workshop on the Water, Sani-tation, Health (WASH) action plan and Nutrition Policy strategic action plan.

DAL’s chief livestock officer, Ms Regina Nukundj, who is also PNG National Food Security Policy national project coordinator, and FAO consultant, Stephen Rog-ers, took the lead in discussions on the planning of the PNG National Food Security Policy action plan. They briefed the workshop on the progress since the review was undertaken with financial and technical support from the FAO. It was emphasized that there will be further consultations with stakeholders including the provinces. The final policy document is expected to be ready for endorsement by the new government in August.

During plenary discussion, participants described the new policy as timely and important for the country, espe-cially the agriculture sector, however, they emphasized the importance of collaboration and consultation amongst the stakeholders in the implementation of the action plan. They agreed that food security is a major issue and there is a big task ahead for all stakeholders to work together and implement the new policy.

DAL & Stakeholders meet to discuss draft PNG National Food Security Policy

The recent inaugural Regional Pacific Food Secu-rity Cluster Forum in Fiji brought together govern-ment leaders from a range of Pacific Island nations, as well as United Nations agencies, NGOs and churches to discuss the ways organisations can more effectively collaborate to improve food security in the region.

One of the highlights of the three-day forum was the presentation on the response of the PNG Church Partner-ship Program (CPP) to the 2015-16 El Niño in Papua New Guinea. Brendan Jinks, one of the managers of the CPP El Niño Drought Response program, provided an overview of the role the Church Partnership Program played during the drought and the value of utilising church networks to obtain information about local condi-tions.

‘Churches played a critical role during the drought, both in their response to support communities, and in conducting food needs assessments. Reports provided by

the Church Partnership Program regularly informed the decisions made by donors, UN agencies and NGOs’ ex-plained Jinks. ‘Churches were also an important source of information on logistics, security and cultural consid-erations of disaster response in remote communities’.

The presentation outlined the impact of the drought in PNG and highlighted the acute food shortages experi-enced in many parts of the country. Forum participants remarked that they were unaware of the extent of the suf-fering of people in PNG during the El Niño.

‘Church-led assessments played a key role in securing much needed food aid funding for parts of the country. There is potential for further developing collaboration between churches and the humanitarian community in disaster response’ continued Jinks.

Forum participants from numerous Pacific Island coun-tries, such as Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga and Samoa, discussed ways in which the CPP model in PNG could be adapted to a regional context, given the strong presences of

PNG Church Partnership Program El Nino re-sponse showcased in Fiji

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Many families in the city have come to enjoy their daily rice meal which they buy regularly from shops, but who cares to ask or even think about where the original grain came from. Well, there is one rice farmer in the city who enjoys his daily rice meal but is also passionate about the seeds that produce the rice.

Mr Patrick Oa, a rice Extension officer with the Rice Extension Unit of the Department of Agricul-ture and Livestock Food Security Branch in Port Moresby recently surprised his next-door neigh-bours at the Rainbow Estate in Gerehu when he har-vested a healthy crop of rice meant for seeds, on a small plot of 2x1 metres, weighing almost 10 kilo-grams.

The rice was grown on a slope with sandy loam red soil fed by rain and waste water from the fami-ly’s home. Mr Oa said the neighbours first thought they were weeds and could not believe that it was possible to grow rice in the backyard.

“Rice seed is very important for later planting,” says Mr Oa. “From the field you select and harvest

the best seeds first for later planting and after that you harvest for consuming.”

Oa explained that a good rice farmer understands his rice cycle. Basically, the rice cycle begins from the seed and ends with the seed. The rice seed is planted, then harvested and stored and from there it is either planted, or milled and consumed.

Mr Oa said the germination test is a normal prac-tice done to check if the seeds were good or not be-fore planting or distribution to farmers to grow.

He germinated 50 rice seeds of the Tai Sung Sen 10 rice variety in a tray. The germination rate was 80%. After about three weeks the seedlings had five leaves and were transplanted in the backyard plot. He recorded and observed the various maturing stages from germination to transplanting, flowering and eventually to harvesting stage. It took about three months for the rice to be ready for harvesting.

He said in his many years of experience with rice extension work it was his first time to observe a grain of rice seed developing 18 stalks which means it will bear more seeds.

Growing rice seeds in the backyard

Patrick Oa and Martin Saulep(right),a young next-door neighbour from West Papua, who is also a grade 3 student at the Hohola Sacred Heart Catholic School with the dried rice

churches in Pacific Islands nations.

‘The showcasing of the power of the church network to rapidly assess and capture food needs in PNG was ex-tremely well-received by country cluster representatives and other participants of the Forum’ explained Sandra Hart, Regional Pacific Food Security Cluster Coordinator for the World Food Programme (WFP).

‘The CPP El Niño response has set a great precedent for other country food security clusters across the Pacific to really kick-start their outreach to faith-based networks, particularly in communities that are most at risk to natu-ral hazards’

Participants were also given hard copies of ‘Assessing Food Needs Following a Natural Disaster in

Papua New Guinea’, a practical guide to assessing food needs developed from the lessons of the church partner-ship program drought response.

‘The work of CPP in drought response complements the work of the Regional Pacific Food Security Cluster as we work actively to develop food security coordina-tion mechanisms across the Pacific region to build resili-ence, prepare for and respond to natural disasters’ ex-plained Hart.

The forum, held for the first time and set to become an annual event, was hosted by the World Food Pro-gramme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organiza-tion (FAO) of the UN.

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Department of Agriculture and Livestock in consultation with the Food and Agricul-ture organization, Interna-tional Telecommunications Union (ITU) and relevant government agencies, private sector and stakeholders held a series of meetings to discuss the PNG e-agriculture draft strategy.

The week-long consultative meetings commenced from 29th May to 2nd June, 2017 with an informal session on the first day attended by representatives from DAL, FAO, ITU, Depart-ment of Communication and Information, National Infor-mation Communication and Technology Authority.

This was followed by four days of stakeholder workshops beginning with the validation of e-agriculture strategy, identification and confirmation of priority e-agriculture solutions with all relevant stakeholders including government departments, agencies, institutions, banks, transportation, tele-communications, and other partners.

Two overseas resource persons, FAO’s Gerard Sylvester, and ITU’s Ashish Narayan were in the country conducting the consultative workshop and meetings with the PNG stakeholders on the draft e-agriculture strategy and the action plan and related

issues.

The formation and establishment of a national steering committee comprising of key government departments and agencies who will be responsible for steering the work plan of the taskforce involved in implementation of the e-agriculture strategy was also discussed.

During the formal opening on 30th May, 2017, DAL’s Deputy Secretary for Corporate Services, Stephen Mesa, urged participants to contribute meaningfully to the discussions as the e-agriculture strategy was one of the important ways forward for

Agriculture sector to benefit through E-agriculture

the agriculture sector.

“The e-agriculture is the future for PNG’s agriculture sector,” Mesa said. He added that PNG was fortunate to be selected in the Pacific region to participate in e-agriculture.

He thanked the FAO for supporting PNG’s efforts in introducing new, improved agriculture communication technology, knowledge and in-novations.

Secretary of the Department of Communica-tion and Information Paulias Korni said the challenge is now on DCI and NICTA to review the current national ICT policies and to develop an overarching national ICT strategy that will provide a clear direction for development of a range of e-services such as the e-agriculture, and for coordination and collaboration among and between all government departments and agencies through an integrated system.

“Such a coordinated approach is significant for us in order to achieve economies of scale and efficiency, and more important, to ensure that the security of our systems and networks is secured, and that there are policies, procedures, measures and legal framework that are neces-sary to govern and safeguard our systems,” Kor-ni said.

Director, Investment Division of NICTA, Kila Gula-Vui on behalf of CEO, said the agri-culture sector remains critical in the country’s devel-opment and NICTA, DCI and the ICT sectors are confident the application of ICT tools in the agricul-ture sector can greatly enhance and sustain the live-lihoods of the majority who live in the rural commu-nities.

Vui said the goal is to help them improve their livelihoods through increased agricultural productiv-ity and incomes through information and communi-cation processes.

“The challenge is, how and what are the best appli-cations that can promote and advance the objectives of the agriculture sector.

“ICT in agriculture is also known as e-agriculture. It is about developing, applying innova-tive ways to use ICTs in the rural domain with pri-mary focus in agriculture. It’s not an end to a means but a means to achieving a goal.”

FAO PNG Country Representative, Ken Shimizu while acknowledging the teamwork of all the stake-holders in the agriculture and ICT sectors empha-sized the need for a comprehensive holistic ap-proach.

“Many e-agriculture solutions fail because content provider is not working closely with regulatory agencies.”

Shimizu said: “There are many ICT solutions being piloted by many different actors but the point is whether everyone is getting together, what is be-ing done, where we are going? We need to have some direction in working on issues like this.

“Also, when we talk about ICT solutions, we are talking about infrastructure for rural people. The success of the strategy will not only depend on the infrastructure alone but also, commitment and will-ingness of stakeholders to make it happen.

The e-agriculture development strategy is an FAO Regional project, and is aimed at harnessing the ICT potential of the country in achieving goals and further strengthening the role of ICTs in accel-erating the growth of the agriculture sector in a sus-tainable and equitable manner.

It is aligned with PNG agriculture policies such as the PNG Vision 2050, PNG Development Strate-gic Plan, and National Agriculture Development Plan, and relevant telecommunications and similar policies.

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ies and stakeholders during a humanitarian crisis.

The forum organizers said it was great to hear of specific cases of assessments and pro-gram activities in Fiji, Solo-mon Islands, PNG and Vanu-atu. They said the Church Partnership Program in PNG which is a widely distributed network of focal points in the churches alliance and how important this was to gather data and disseminate infor-mation, certainly raised the question of whether this mod-el can be replicated in other countries.

The key outcomes of the forum were Capacity support

and training to national clusters and national disaster management organizations in relation to maps, data collection, information management, producing ad-vocacy and enhancing collaboration. Others are fos-tering bilateral partnerships between Pacific Island nations’ clusters and disaster organizations, provid-ing data sharing and storage capability through part-nerships between local Pacific organisations, work planning for implementations of lessons learnt, and support for University of South Pacific Cluster in-volvement.

Ms Mirriam Mondia, a technical officer with the FAO PNG Country Office and also the interim coor-dinator of the PNG Food Security Cluster, described the forum as an excellent opportunity to meet other participants involved in cluster activities and to share experiences.

“The rPFSC forum was a window of opportunity for the PNG Food Security Cluster team representa-tives to meet, connect and exchange/share experienc-es ad information with Food Security Clusters from neighbouring Pacific Islands. The Cluster system is quite new to the Pacific region (PNG included) and so it was interesting to find out the challenges and issues faced by our respective neighbouring Pacific Islands. I was also very happy that our FSC here in PNG is very active with room for a bit of improve-ment, especially in Information Management, but it was also quite evident that as the large Island state, it would be beneficial to other clusters to share our vast experiences in order to support their respective clus-ter operations in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.”

First Regional Pacific Food Security Cluster Forum Successful Outcome

Pacific Island countries including Papua New Guinea will work more closely together in strengthening humanitarian response during times of disasters.

This was one of the key outcomes of the first Re-gional Pacific Food Security Cluster Forum held in Fiji recently which the hosts described as an over-whelming success.

The three-day event, organized by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations brought together 50 participants from Fiji, Papua New Guin-ea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. They represented the government, non-government organisations, international donor partners, faith-based groups, institutions and others.

The WFP and FAO said it was great to have en-thusiastic attendance and participation from the six focus countries of the South Pacific for the Regional Pacific Food Security Cluster. The relationships built, faces put to names and friendships made can only ensure a strengthened Pacific Regional Food Security Cluster.

The expected outcomes for the forum were, in-creased collaboration and familiarity between region-al food security cluster members, the standardization of best practice for information management and oth-er key food security cluster processes in national food security organisations, development of a work plan to provide trainings with and improve capability of every national food security cluster, improved knowledge and ability of cluster members on how to create compelling advocacy that benefits beneficiar-

Left: Mr Kaigabu Kamnanaya of the PNG National Disaster Centre making comments during the forum. Right: One of the PNG participants, Brown Konabe, DAL food security director, (left) makes a point during discussions. Looking on is Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, Jitendra Singh.

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On 9th May, 2017, CARE International in PNG (CARE PNG) successfully hosted the PNG Highlands El Niño Response Lessons Learned Workshop in Goroka, Papua New Guinea. In partnership with the PNG National Disaster Cen-tre (NDC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), CARE PNG brought to-gether key actors in the 2015-16 El Niño response in PNG to evaluate the overall response in the highlands.

Participating organisations worked in teams and discussed what went well, what did not go so well and put forward practical recommendations to im-prove responses to future El Niño and other emer-gency events.

Workshop participants from the highlands in-cluded representatives from the Baptist Union of PNG, Red Cross, Oxfam, CARE PNG, United Church of PNG, New Tribes Mission, Community Development Agency and Provincial and District governments. Participants from Port Moresby in-cluded representatives from the Department of Agri-culture and Livestock (DAL), the Department of Provincial and Local Government Affairs (DPLGA), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, UNDP and the Australian High Commission.

The 2015-16 El Niño frosts and drought had dev-astating impacts on water and food availability in PNG. Several million people were affected by the drought, including many communities that suffered from severe food shortages. Humanitarian actors present at the workshop responded with WASH NFI

kit distributions, water system infrastructure and repairs, health and agricultural recovery and resili-ence programs across 21 highlands districts in 7 provinces. The food distribution program in the highlands provided emergency life-saving food aid to more than 300,000 people.

Participants of the PNG Highlands El Niño Re-sponse Lessons Learned Workshop acknowledged the difficulties of preparing for and responding to El Niño events in PNG, particularly issues of cost, se-curity and ensuring the most vulnerable were in-cluded. Much of the discussion focused on challeng-es around coordination, and specific recommenda-tions were put forward to improve future responses. Most highlands provinces were represented, includ-ing Hela, Western Highlands, Jiwaka, Simbu and Eastern Highlands.

The findings and recommendations from the workshop will be made available in a report in the coming weeks. This report will inform the National El Niño Planning Workshop, scheduled to take place 30 to 31 May 2017 in Port Moresby.

CARE PNG is a not-for-profit, international non-governmental humanitarian organisation. The stra-tegic goal of CARE PNG is to achieve significant, positive and lasting impact on poverty and social injustice in rural areas of PNG through the empow-erment of women and their communities, and through effective partnerships.

The PNG Highlands El Niño Response Lessons Learned Workshop was made possible with support from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

PNG Highlands El Niño Response Lessons Learned Workshop

Papua New Guinea agriculture is a climate-smart,

internationally competitive, business-oriented pow-

erhouse translating our vast untapped agriculture

potential to provide food security, sustainable ru-

ral 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 support to inspire and empow-

er 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

Condolence Message

The Secretary, staff and Management of the Department of Agriculture & Livestock convey our pro-found and sincere sympathy to wife, Lemasi Dibra and children, Morgan, Loius, Belden, Maia and

Moido; families in Kagi village, Koiari, Central Province and?....... for loss and sorrow we now share of your loving father, husband, brother, relative, and our colleague for his untimely passing.

The late BERNARD SENISI, a committed and loyal officer, served the Department of Agriculture and Livestock for 33 years since the commencement of his employment on 5/11/84 as a Trainee

Technical Officer with the Kilakila Chemistry Laboratory. In 200? He transferred to DAL after win-ning a position as Assets officer Gr. 8 with the Personnel and Administration Branch. after transfer-ring from Kilakila to DAL until his death on June 10, 2017. Colleagues and friends all around the

country will all miss him and pray that our Good Lord will grant him eternal peace. May His

Soul Rest In Eternal Peace

Dr. Vele Pat Ila’ava,

Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Livestock