The focus in these tough economic times currently experienced in the country brought about by the recent world events, should be to encourage agriculture and supporting the local fresh produce farmers in the rural areas.
That is the word from the Papua New Guinea Institute of National Affairs (PNG INA) Director Mr. Paul Barker when highlighting the importance of trying to mitigate the impact of the high-cost goods on the population.
Mr. Barker said people living in the main urban centers that depend on imported store goods are feeling the pinch of this.
This includes people in the informal economy, the people in the lower income and middle-income wage range.
This current economic situation will be a challenge for many, but Mr. Barker said for those in the farming sectors in the rural areas, they are likely not to be impacted too much by it and they can supply fresh produce, be it garden produce from the land or produce from the sea or rivers, to meet demands.
“The good thing in Papua New Guinea is that a large portion of the population actually have gardens and living in rural areas, and they are able to produce food. Many of them are able to produce cash crops and they are able to earn income and get better prices from their coffee, cocoa or oil palm and so on,” said Mr. Barker.
Barker said what the state can do is support farmers by getting their produce to the main markets in the urban areas by subsidizing the cost of transportation to make it convenient for the fresh produce to be supplied to the urban markets to compensate for the high cost of imported goods on consumers.
However, he added that for this to happen effectively the systems in place to give such assistance should be improved, so that funds allocated for this purpose are put to good use to make it happen.
That responsibility is on the national and the provincial authorities responsible to give such assistance.