The private sector through large scale agriculture companies and small holder farmers were praised for “holding the fort”.
Speaking at the inaugural National Agricultural Industry Public-Private Sector Partnership Conference, Managing Director for Livestock Development Corporation Mr Terry Koim acknowledged large scale industry players for their commitment and interventions that has continued to maintain the industry.
“I acknowledge Nuigini Tablebirds, Zenag Chicken, Ramu Agri, Duran Farm and others who persisted through often difficult situations to maintain the supply of fresh meat in the country.
“I also acknowledge the contribution of small holder farmers, whom without any government support for the past 30 years that LDC was non-operational have managed to survive.
“Today, we want to see how we can work with them to improve the sector. We will be having a consultation meeting in the coming weeks and we’d like to have their input in the policies that we are developing,” Koim said.
The Livestock Development Corporation was established in 1982 by the Somare Government but operations declined in 1992 due to mismanagement and political interference.
The Marape/Rosso Government when taking over Government in 2019 pushed for revitalization of LDC beginning with the appointment of a new Board in 2020.
The establishment of the new Board has seen the reclaimation of over 30 000 hectares of land, reviving the cattle stocks, staff capacity building and good governance measures.
Koim stressed the need for policy and regulatory reforms, better data collection and partnerships with private investors to support small holder farmers and develop the livestock industry.
The National Agricultural Industry Public-Private Sector Partnership Conference was held in Lae from the 7th to the 11th of April 2025.
