ICT “know-how” to boost AgriBusiness and AgriTourism in PNG
News details
This blog article is posted on behalf of the Pacific community Agritourism Week Social reporting team.
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“I believe the key to economic and sustainable development lies in empowering the people. Papua New Guineans and Pacific Islanders are agriculturists by nature, we have sustained ourselves with food gardens for centuries. If we could teach our people to embrace the business culture and commercialising our agriculture sector, simple farms and farmers become big businesses that reap big profits. We have the land, we have the farmers, we just need the know-how. “
This was Leanne Jorari’s statement as she introduced herself on the mailing list of the online Social Reporters for the Pacific Community AgriTourism Week. Leanne, from Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a Television Producer and Business reporter for PNG’s television station, EMTV and is participating as a online social reporter with 120 other people for the 5 days’ event being held in Nadi, Fiji from 29 June to 03 July 2015.
Having the “know-how” is what is required now. One of the knowledge areas that PNG’s entrepreneurs and individuals are grasping is the skills of utilising Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to achieve their goals and objectives in a more efficient way.
ICT Development in PNG
As I write, I am sitting in an Air Niugini Flight heading to Nadi, Fiji to attend the Pacific Community AgriTourism Week as one of the on-site social reporters. I pick up the Paradise Magazine and read an article (page 132-133, May-June 2015) about Priscilla Kevin, a young ICT entrepreneur who runs her own ICT consultancy company, In4net in Port Moresby. Priscilla also actively participates in sector-led initiatives such as the EU-fundedPNG ICT Cluster that brings ICT specialists together to discuss ICT initiatives to assist in the country’s development. According to her:
“The ICT industry has great potential, but the environment in which it operates needs to be looked at. We are in the knowledge era and the internet and ICT is very new to the country, just 10 years old, so there is great interest in the ICT industry as a career. Much potential is in the rural areas where people do not have access to basic information to enable them to develop their communities. Electricity is one of the challenges, especially for businesses. They cannot use ICT because of lack of electricity but the other challenge also is the high cost of internet”.
Agri-Business and ICT
Roughly 85% of PNG’s population live in the rural areas of the country, of which 80% are engaged in agricultural activities which involve mainly subsistence farming and any economic activity involves selling produce at the local markets at a small scale to support living expenses.
Agribusiness is mostly common among the main cash crop industry including Oil Palm, Cocoa and Coffee where ICT is used more extensively in the well-established commercial crops.
Many smallholder farmers have access to mobile phones, used for SMS and calls, mainly to communicate with family but used at a minimum for business. Facebook is the most popular social media platform. A Facebook Group, Local Market PNG, allows individuals to promote items for sale but even then it is not used much by our Agri-Entrepreneurs.
Even with the introduction of mobile services including bulk-SMS marketing and mobile banking services, many still choose the old way of standing in line at the banks, meeting buyers at local markets, and doing their transactions.
The use of ICT within the sector and specifically for agri-business/tourism is still at a very infant stage.
Recommendations
Some of the recommendations in the Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility report include:
- Strengthening access to communications to be competitive and fairly priced
- Development of basic digital literacy
- Increased technology use by governments to deliver services
- e-Applications for development
- Investments in ICT skills for employment opportunities.
I trust that the AgriTourism Week (#PacAgriTo) will bring much information and opportunities for PNG and other Pacific Nations to gain the positive “know-how”!
Blogpost by Carole Cholai, Social Reporter for the Pacific Community AgriTourism Week 2015.
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