The livestock industry in PNG has been operating in a policy and legislative vacuum for a very long time. Fortunately, this status quo is changing under the current government. With the creation of the Ministry of Livestock, deliberate steps have been taken to draft National Livestock Policy aligned to the overall policy objectives for agriculture under the Marape Government. The Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the Livestock Development Corporation are in the final stages of delivering the country’s first ever National Livestock Policy. This document, once approved by the Parliament, will form the basis for the development of the legislative framework for the creation of the Livestock Industry Authority which will be given statutory powers to regulate the livestock sub-sector.  

The policy team had successfully completed regional consultations in the four regions in order to gauge the views of the farmers and other stakeholders in the livestock industry. All the other subsequent processes required in formulating this policy should be concluded shortly. It is anticipated that the policy will be ready for approval by the NEC and the Parliament in due course.

The policy aims to create an environment conducive for livestock production where the interest of all stakeholders in the livestock value-chain are protected.  

After the creation of the Livestock Industry Authority, this entity will ensure all livestock species are catered for in terms of their production processing and marketing under relevant sub-policies.  LDC will remain as the business arm of the Authority while its current operations as a company will be offloaded to a private investor or partner under agreed commercial arrangements.  

LDC has been vigorously engaging with stakeholders both locally and abroad for partnerships through various arrangements such as the MOU with Bondstock Rural Exports for import of live cattle from Australia, and skills training with Central Queensland University for capacity building. 

These developments are some of the targets intended to be achieved under the National Livestock Policy in order to create a sustainable livestock future that will address PNG’s dependence on meat imports, estimated at K900 million annually, and promote self-sufficiency in meat production.