Yesterday and Tomorrow in the Beautiful Kuk Valley; The Ancestral Home of Agriculture in PNG

Beautiful Kuk Valley! The archaeological home of agriculture in Papua New Guinea. 

Our people have always been farmers and fishes.

We need not train them to grow crops and livestock with which they're already familiar. 

As far as 'sustainable' or 'smart' farming systems are concerned let us be careful we do not step on the toes of  local knowledge and or traditional knowledge. Our people have already survived this far. 

It is my opinion (and yours may differ) that agriculture training today should be focused on mass production (of both crops and livestock),climate change, global trade and biosecurity issues affecting the production system. 


Let us not produce more agriculture scientists than we can employ- although the title "SCIENTIST" may seem flashy🌟..Say if a higher education institution is to  graduate  an annual class of 200 agriculture scientists - in 5 years, this would equate to 1000 graduates.

Where would they all work...?? Which national policy specifies the creation of 1000 scientist jobs in 5 years?

Surely not all of these graduates will become successful entrepreneurs, not all will become secondary school teachers (as some parents and guardians may not be able to afford paying for an extra teaching diploma after paying for 4 years of undergraduate education); sadly some graduates will spend years hunting for the right jobs and many may give up. 

We need to align with national policies ensuring that our agriculture curricular is focused on increasing agriculture production, lowering production costs and increasing food safety and security!

We cannot keep teaching graduates to use the digging stick or the spade while the world is moving onwards to increased agricultural production via mechanical means.

We also need those post harvest and agribusiness specialists. 

Tonnes of fresh produce in Mt Hagen market is left to rot weekly while other PNG towns are in dire need of these vegetables. 

Over to you policy makers.


Pictured below is arable farm land at Baisu Correctional Services Institute, Western Highlands Province. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Jewel of Jiwaka; Christian Leaders Training College, PNG.

Image
As Nationalists, we were thrilled to discover that the Christian Leaders Training College (CLTC) in Banz, Jiwaka Province is setting its course  to becoming a university.  They intend to offer specialist Agriculture degree programs and Education (Primary/Secondary School Teaching) Programs apart from Theology.  A visit to their campus proved that this hidden jewel of Jiwaka is set to become the BEST UNIVERSITY IN PNG THAT WILL OFFER SPECIALIZED AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION PROGRAMS . They have a good mixture of international and national expert lecturing and technical staff.  CLTC may well be the first higher education institution in PNG (when it is established as such) to be carbon neutral or somewhat close to carbon neutral as it is minimizing it's carbon footprint by an enormous solar electrification project that has covered over 85% of the roof tops of it's campus buildings.  CLTC has a successful cattle breeding program in which artificial insemination is used to...
Read more

Go tell it to Waigani: Let our people be! Stop the Frieda River Mine Project!

Image
Save Our Ecosystem - Save the Sepik River: A Call to Our Leaders to Be More Creative About Saving the National Economy  The Sepik River, known locally as Avisat, is not just a river; it is the lifeblood of the communities that reside along its banks. It is a source of sustenance, culture, and a vital connection to our ancestors. The proposed Frieda River Mine Project threatens to disrupt this delicate balance, posing a significant risk to the environment and the people who depend on the Sepik River for their survival. This essay advocates against the Frieda River Mine Project, urging our leaders to seek more sustainable and creative solutions for economic development.         Save our ecosystem, Save our Sepik River!  Go tell it in Waigani . .(as in the song – Go tell it on the mountain)  to let our people be! Stop the Frieda River Mine Project! Avisat is our connection to our forefathers, Wolimbit standing on tall stilts that allow Mama Avisat to...
Read more

AGRICULTURE TRAINING AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN TODAY'S PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Image
  I copied this image from Facebook (www.gocomics.com) as I thought it best fit my efforts to advocate for industry relevant curriculum in higher education.  What is your Agriculture Curriculum Teaching you in HIGHER EDUCATION ❓ Some background information One may ask, what is it with agriculture training in higher education at Papua New Guinean (PNG) institutions that makes it such a topic of interest and discussion? Well, consecutive (national) governments keep telling us that agriculture is the "backbone" of our economy. And...it is! A vast and often silent majority of our fellow citizens rely on agriculture production and related in the renewable resource sector for their livelihood.  An increase of unplanned rural to urban migration can also be attributed to the lack of opportunities for a fair livelihood within this renewable resource sector. Now we want to introduce the Vagrancy Act and send them all back to the villages, back to the lack of opportunities...
Read more