Call to abolish PNG agriculture, livestock department
Updated
The Governor of Papua New Guinea's Morobe Province, Luther Wenge, wants the Department of Agriculture and Livestock abolished. Governor Wenge says the scientists running the department should be doing what they are trained to do rather than doing administrative work in the capital, Port Moresby. At the same time, Governor Wenge wants the government to provide more financial support to the work of the National Agriculture Research Institute.
Presenter: Peter Jonah, Radio Australia's Tok Pisin service
Speaker: Luther Wenge, governor of PNG's Morobe province
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WENGE: Eh yes, I said those things because for this reason - we have a lot of agricultural scientists being educated at expense of Papua New Guinea taxpayers. It seems to me with the greatest of observation and respect, that they are not doing enough as they should do. The nation has paid a lot of money on training them in the country and abroad, and they are the one who is supposed to inspire, and not just inspire, but practically carry out the scientific experiment or proceed to do something to invent technology we need in the area of agricultural science.
JONAH: And governor, what are the sorts of people you would like to see in the new authority that will take its place?
WENGE: National Agriculture Research Institute is doing the same. We have got a bunch of scientists there and they are carrying out experiment in crops and also in husbandry, and making discovery. It is a quality institution in the sense that it will hold scientists there, it will hold the people with the research minded in there, and also making sure that they are supported with money so that they are seen, that they are conducting scientific experiment in the area that we need. Scientific areas that is in relation to crops, animal husbandry. They need to be physically involved in those areas, so that their country can benefit from them. So I am saying that we abolish the agriculture department, come up with like forest authority or fishery authority, so we see that the scientists has been well used.
