Biosecurity Risks and impacts on Food

 

 

Papua New Guinea does not have an effective local quarantine when it comes to securing local plants and animals from invasive species.

Peter Mwayawa, a University of Papua New Guinea Open College lecturer, said there is not enough done to protect our cash crops, food crops and local fauna species within the country and as a result they are losing their value.

Presenting his paper on Biosecurity and impacts on food during the recent Waigani Seminar this year, Mwayawa said invasive species such as cocoa borer and coffee blight that disturbs proper growth of the plants results in less income for growers while simultaneously reducing food value for consumers.

“We do not know that pests are eating away our environment. The more the pests, the more food value decreases,” Said Mwayawa.

Mwayawa further explained that PNG’s local animals also face the same threat as plants; such as the recent bird flu related to chickens but there is no strategy developed to implement comprehensive risk management.

Mwayawa added that with the growing population of PNG and the parallel demand for food in the country, the importance of implementing comprehensive risk management program, monitoring, awareness’s, and responses to biosecurity is important.

He stressed that if the issue is not given much attention soon by the appropriate authorities than PNG would be waiting for results from international quarantine which would take weeks to arrive and by the time results arrive on our shores it would be too late.

Minister for Agriculture and Life Stock, Tommy Tomscol, who also attended the seminar agreed on the issue of food security in the country and highlighted that climate change has played a part in the issue.

Tomscol expressed dissatisfaction that Agriculture is the only sector in the country that does not have a legislation and he said he is looking forward to change this by proposing a new Agricultural Adjustment bill in parliament soon to cater for issues such as the above.