The outbreak of pests and invasive species will continue to threaten our food security if we are not equipped with smarter tools and processes for surveillance and mitigation.
The Acting Director General of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), Warea Orapa, echoed this concern during a stakeholder analysis workshop for a plant health programme called PlantwisePlus.
The workshop was staged in early May under the auspices of the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International, at NARI’s Momase regional research centre in Lae.
It marked the inception of the PlantwisePlus programme, which will be rolled out in collaboration with NARI and the National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA).
“The PlantwisePlus programme will allow us to predict, prevent and prepare for plant health threats through effective and sustainable measures so that our smallholder farmers are able to produce the required quantity and quality of food in the face of a changing climate,” said Orapa.
He further iterated that the workshop was aimed at connecting the stakeholders involved, understanding their roles and responsibilities, and identifying priority areas to deliver on plant health system functions in the country.
The Acting NARI Director said the outcome of the stakeholder analysis will guide them to prioritise activities to be undertaken in the programme. The programme, when implemented, will support the reduction of crop losses due to key pests and diseases such as coffee berry borer and cocoa pod borer.
PlantwisePlus will also be able to strengthen the existing plant health services in PNG and is expected to improve the prevention and detection of invasive pests and diseases.
Representatives from the Cocoa Board, Coffee Industry Corporation, Oil Palm Research Association, Kokonas Indastri Koporesen, Ramu Agri-business, University of Technology, PNG Women in Agriculture, Department of Agriculture – Morobe, NAQIA, and NARI participated in the workshop.
The PlantwisePlus programme is already being implemented in 34 countries. PNG is set to join them in a couple of months.
(The PlantwisePlus workshop participants)