All papers published by JABR are peer-reviewed. JABR is a rapid response journal with an issue published every month.

The following types of papers are considered for publication:
• Original articles in basic and applied research.
• Critical reviews, surveys, opinions, commentaries and essays.

Our objective is to inform authors of the decision on their manuscript(s) within a MONTH of submission. Following acceptance, a paper will normally be published in the next issue.

One key request of researchers across the world is open access to research publications. Journal of Agriculture and Biodiversity Research is currently is fully committed to providing free access to all articles as soon as they are published (published articles are freely downloaded for use by any researcher across the world). Our large readership base makes it possible for publish articles to be beneficial to the millions of researchers across the world. We ask you to support this initiative by publishing your papers in this journal.

Authors guide and other details are available on the Journals Web page http://www.onlineresearchjournals.org/JABR. Prospective authors should send their manuscript(s) to the following email submit.jabr@onlineresearchjournals.org or jabr.onlineresearch@yahoo.com.

Please visit http://www.onlineresearchjournals.org/JABR for current issue.

How is your vital partnership between Research4Life and your institutional library staff powering effective research in developing countries?

Research4Life announces a competition to recognize the role of librarians and library staff in building the capacities of Research4Life users and in impacting the overall work of their institutions.

Since 2001, the Research4Life initiative has grown and developed into a partnership of over 200 scientific publishers around the globe, giving researchers at more than 6,000 institutions in over 100 developing world countries and territories free or low cost online access to almost 30,000 peer-reviewed international scientific journals, books, and databases provided by the world’s leading science publishers.

In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of one of its programmes – Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) – Research4Life is holding a special competition to highlight the dedication and capacity building activities developed by those who promote and assist researchers in their institution in accessing vital information.

The Research4Life Librarian Competition is open to all librarians and library staff whose institution is a user of Research4Life Programmes – Access to Research in Health (HINARI), Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA), Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE) and Access to Research for Development and Innovation (ARDI). For a list of eligible countries, areas, and territories click here.

As the involvement of the librarian and the library staff is so important to the success of Research4life, the winner will be invited to be the first user to join the Research4life Executive Council, and awarded one trip (paid flight, accommodation and food) to the Research4life Partners meeting in September 2013.

If you aren’t yet registered with Research4Life, but are in an eligible country, area, territory, write to one of the Research4Life Programmes here.

The Competition will run 6 March – 27 April 2013 with a winner being announced in June.

Find out more about competition here

A women and her children from Irafo village in the Okapa District can now fetch clean water near the village rather than traveling miles – thanks to HOAC for funding support to the water project

Chairman Daniel Kinne revealed that HOAC has started initially by supplying school stationary in the North and South Fore areas and as the premium of its coffee sales grew, HOAC refocused its development objective to more impact projects.

He said the projects extended to include:
• building four permanent elementary classrooms in the Purosa area
• building one three bedroom teacher’s house at Purosa area,
• assisting with sewn timbers for double classroom building at Ke’efu primary school
• assisting with two teachers housing at Ke’efu primary school, and
• providing Waisa elementary school with V-crimp to replace bamboo wall.

In addition, 150 coffee pulping machines were bought and distributed to farmers in various villages in the district as part of coffee quality improvement and mattresses were supplied to Ivingoi Sub-Health Center Ward.

HOAC built this permanent elementary classroom using Fairtrade premium in 2008 in Emasa area in the Okapa District

HOAC was initially formed in 2004 with over 2000 members from North and South Fore and parts of Keyagana constituency. Since its inception, HOAC has gone one step further by obtaining organic and Fairtrade Certification from reputable international organizations; the NASAA and Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO) from Australia and Germany respectively.

Mr Kinne said after receiving Fairtrade certification in 2005, HOAC has been selling coffee through its export agent Coffee Connections Ltd which receives Fairtrade premium of 20 cents per pound that goes towards tangible community development projects.

Director of DARD shaking hands with Dr. Roger Malapa, acting CEO of VARTC (right) during the incubator presentation in Vanuatu this week

The project has since been implemented in Solomon Islands. The project is funded by the European Union and implemented by the PNG National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Solomon Islands, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vanuatu and the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria.

The specific objective is to improve the food production capacity of smallholder farming communities in areas where precipitation deficits, excess soil moisture and soil salinity problems are becoming significant threats to agricultural production and productivity. Apart from small livestock development, the project has components on crop improvement, soil fertility management and water management.

NARI will provide practical training to VARTC and DARD technicians on the set up and management of the incubator. VARTC will also receive an operational budget of about Vatu550,000 from the project and supply chicks to the project on cost recovery basis.

VARTC has a small village chicken breeding unit that will produce fertile eggs to hatch in the incubator. The incubator will be set up at its head quarters in Santo.

The Chief Guest of this handing over ceremony was Livo Mele, Director of DARD. Senior executives and scientists of VARTC as well as the Provincial office of DARD are also in attendance.

The total cost of procurement and shipment of this incubator was about Vatu450,000 (Four hundred and fifty thousand Vatu). This project is financed by the European Union, which provided a research grant of Euro2.93 million, to finance 80% of the direct costs of the project over its five year implementation period. The National Agricultural Research Institute of Papua New Guinea contributed the matching 20% of the project costs.

More information on this can be obtained from: VARTC, Dr. Roger Malapa; Ph: 5346795; Email: malapa.roger@vanuatu.com.vu

This was part of the five year research project aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change on food security and livelihoods in vulnerable areas of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu that was launched in Port Moresby, PNG, on March 10 2011.

MAL Under-Secretary Technical Jim Saelea shaking hands with GKA Chairman Moses Palemo as NARI’s Livestock Project Leader Dr Workneh Ayalew looks on

The specific objective is to improve the food production capacity of smallholder farming communities in areas where precipitation deficits, excess soil moisture and soil salinity problems are becoming significant threats to agricultural production and productivity.

Apart from small livestock development, the project has components on crop improvement, soil fertility management and water management.

NARI will provide practical training to KGA technicians on the set up and management of the incubato. KGA will also receive an operational budget of about SBD 45,000 (Forty Five thousand Solomon Dollars) from the project and supply chicks to the project on cost recovery basis. KGA has a small village chicken breeding unit that will produce fertile eggs to hatch in the incubator. The incubator will be set up at its head quarters in Honiara.

The Chief Guest of this handing over ceremony was Franck Wickham, Permanent Secretary of the MAL. Other senior executives of MAL as senior officers of the KGA are also in attendance.

The total cost of procurement and shipment of this incubator was about SBD35, 000 (Thirty five thousand Solomon Dollars).

This project is financed by the European Union, which provided a research grant of SBD33million, to finance 80% of the direct costs of the project over its five year implementation period. The National Agricultural Research Institute of Papua New Guinea contributed the matching 20% of the project costs.

More information on this can be obtained from: MAL, Jules Damutalau; Ph: 7441586; Email: j_damutalau@yahoo.com.

A project meeting was held in Lae at the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) on March 14 to identify key issues and finetune project activities.

Livestock makes a significant contribution to the livelihoods and health of more than 600,000 smallholder farmers in PNG mainly through subsistence and small scale commercial production of pigs and poultry. Small ruminants, cattle and inland aquaculture play an increasing role in this sector.

The food security and economic benefits from these livestock enterprises are constrained by a lack of livestock health services and poor management practices. Inadequate housing and nutrition, poor reproduction, high mortality of young stock and poor access to rapidly emerging urban markets are consistent issues restricting productivity. Compounding the situation are the effects of HIV/AIDS on the labour market and an increased susceptibility to common zoonotic conditions, thus adding to the disease burden of tuberculosis and malaria within smallholder farming communities.

The project, titled ‘Enabling smallholder livestock services in PNG’, aims to build capacity and coordination within existing networks and human resources to meet the PNG government’s goal of a livestock production increase of 5% per annum.

It also aims to show that by decreasing disease burden in livestock, improving coordination between the human health and animal health sectors and increasing available protein and livelihood income within farming communities, an impact can be made on disease burden within village communities.

The specific objectives to be addressed by this project are:
1. Functional smallholder livestock health and production services with the purpose of producing an acceptable service delivery system that meets the needs of smallholders.
2. Better health and productivity of smallholder communities with the purpose of improving smallholder livelihood and wellbeing.
3. Human capacity building with the purpose of increasing knowledge and skills of selected personnel with particular emphasis on research scientists, para-veterinarians and veterinary laboratory technicians.

The study design involves a series of surveys followed by the implementation of a combination of smallholder production methods that have been developed in isolation to improve smallholder production efficiency and health. This holistic one health approach will be implemented at four district level focal sites representative of the major smallholder production systems in the country. Imbedded into this methodology is a stepwise process of education and capacity building.

The surveys are designed to obtain baseline data on farmer perceptions and needs both nationally and at the specific focus sites. Within the surveys information will be obtained on existing market chains, current service delivery and traditional remedies.

To verify the impact of the holistic intervention approach, a case-control study design will be implemented using case intervention villages and control non-intervention villages where health and production parameters will be monitored and compared. The definition of “health”, in this context, is inclusive of human health and zoonotic diseases carried by animals and provide a one health approach.

Each collaborator has a specific role in carrying out the methodology and meeting the objectives.

NARI will lead the project to capture the experience in working with livestock owner groups. The Institute will be supported in health surveillance and related activities by veterinarians and animal health officers from the National Agricultural and Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA) as well as livestock officers from the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) and Livestock Development Corporation (LDC) at national, regional, provincial and district levels.

The PNG Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR) will assist in the monitoring of human disease burden and primary health and nutritional parameters within the focus project sites.

The University of Natural Resources and Environment (UNRE) will be supported in the development of para-veterinary training. Laboratory support capacity will be provided and developed through NAQIA, PNGIMR, Sotuh Australia Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and James Cook University (JCU).

Research and development capacity in animal nutrition, animal health and other aspects of husbandry and public health will be provided from JCU, PNGIMR, SARDI and NARI in collaboration with UNRE and the PNG University of Technology.

The project will deliver measurable production increases (estimated at 5%/annum) in the smallholder sector by the end of the projected five to seven year lifespan, in line with the PNG Development Strategic Plan 2010 – 2030. The increased production will have direct economic benefits for the livestock owners and indirect benefits for human health as well as for allied industries, including the commercialisation and utilisation of plant by-products and waste, and development of the slaughter, packaging and transport industries.

Governor Soso committed K100, 000 to the Gahuku Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society, which is based in the Gahuku/Gehamo area of Goroka District, and urged them to become a model cooperative group in Goroka and the province by being transparent and accountable and provide sound management.

The group was incorporated with the Cooperative Office of the Department of Commerce and Industry in 2011 and has over 100 local members. Their objective is to maximize quality coffee production and seek lucrative markets for the benefit of their members and community.

Governor Soso said in order to achieve that, the group members must be committed and cooperate in advancing the affairs of the group to serve its members rather than involving in acts that would fragment the group.

During the occasion, 40 coffee farmers graduated in coffee management and book keeping from a training by the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) after the completion of the groups Participatory Rural Appraisal Program (PRAP).

Other dignitaries who also attended the occasion and pledged their support to the group were Goroka MP, Bire Kimisopa; CIC’s Research and Grower Services General Manager, Dr Mark Kenny; Managing Director of Coffee Connections, Henry Ame; Project Manager of the World Bank Funded Productive Partnership in Agriculture Project, David Frayne; representatives from Bank South Pacific, CIC and the locals.

Global academic publishing company John Wiley & Sons has made 12,200 online books available via the Research4Life initiatives – Access to Research in Health (HINARI), Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture and Online Access to Research in the Environment – to 80 low and middle-income countries.

Emily Gillingham, chair of Research4Life’s Executive Council, tells SciDev.Net that access to these books could help researchers develop better and more informed scientific writing skills; produce focused research that can be discussed with top researchers worldwide; compete more effectively for research <http://www.scidev.net/en/science-and-innovation-policy/r-d/ funding; and deliver better teaching programmes.

“The books are empowering universities, colleges, research institutes and government ministries as well as non-governmental agencies and hospitals, with access to scientific knowledge,” Gillingham says.

“They span a broad range and the list is growing each month – for example 600 books from the American Geophysical Union will be added in March,” says Gillingham.

She adds that, for example, almost 6,000 of the titles are in the fields of chemistry, physical sciences and engineering; 1,200 are medical, nursing and related health titles; and 2,000 are related to life sciences, agriculture and food science.

Examples of the books included are Basic Guide to Dental Sedation Nursing; Textbook of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology; and Sustaining Soil Productivity in Response to Global Climate Change: Science, Policy, and Ethics.

The Wiley Online Books Collection includes handbooks, dictionaries, companions, encyclopedias and landmark book series from authors and researchers in the life, health and physical sciences, social sciences and the humanities.

Mohamed Atani, officer-in-charge of the publishing unit in the Division of Communication and Public information at UNEP (the UN Environment Program) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, says: “Our goal with Research4Life is to provide and support quality research in developing countries in order to advance higher education, inform public policy decisions and ultimately improve quality of life”.

Atani says that the initiative will enable accessibility to electronic books at no cost to developing countries and equip researchers in places like Africa with information on agriculture and the environment.

“The books are very important to universities and policymakers, providing them with information crucial in research and decision-making”.

The Wiley and Sons announcement was made last month (6 February).

Chief Executive Officer of the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) Ltd Mr Navi Anis revealed this in line with provisional coffee production figures for 2012 which saw the province rising to be the third largest coffee producing province in PNG.

Coffee farmers in the Bunum Woo area of Jiwaka province listening attentively to CIC’s National Farmer Training and Extension Officer Matei Labun on the benefits of the government funded District by District Coffee Rehabilitation and Nursery program.

According to provisional figures on last year’s coffee production, Jiwaka accounted for 13% of the total national coffee production, making it another major coffee producing province. Other major coffee producing provinces are Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands, Morobe andSimbu. These provinces produce over 90% of the total production.

Mr Anis said Jiwaka province will be the third largest supplier of PNG coffee ahead of Morobe and Simbu provinces as evident in the provisional figures. Taking Jiwaka as a separate province means EHP is now a leading coffee producing region, supplying well over 31% of the total production, followed by WHP with 24%.

He said coffee production in the Jiwaka province is largely driven by many rehabilitated coffee blocks and plantations in Anglimp/South Waghi and parts of North Waghi including Jimi through strong determination of the Jiwaka coffee farmers and their provincial government to develop their province via coffee.

“Their determination to develop the newly province via increased coffee activities will result not only in higher financial returns but also improve social and economic livelihood of the people of Jiwaka and they could easily become the leading producer.

Mr Anis thanked the government, stakeholders and people of Jiwaka for promoting coffee as the top commodity in their province and urged them to work with CIC to mobilize farmer groups and seek rewarding markets.

The project stands to impact with a 25% increase in profitability of monogastric sector and increase production by 5% per annum, equating to A$47m. Currently the local monogastric sector has a market value of A$190.5m per annum, comprising some 600,000 small farmers.

The four-year project is titled: “Enhancing the role of small scale feed milling in the development of the monogastric industries in Papua New Guinea”. Its annual review meeting in Lae from March 12-13 2013, after its first year of implementation, revealed that all partners are happy with the progress so far.

Funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the project is undertaken through a diverse collaboration involving the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), Primary Industries Industry and Investment NSW (Australia), Highlands Aquaculture Development Centre (HAQDC), National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI), National Fisheries Authority (NFA), PNG University of Technology (Unitech), Christian Leaders Training College (CLTC), Ok Tedi Development Foundation (OTDF) and the Lutheran Development Service (LDS).
The review was told that smallholder and semi commercial aquaculture, pig and poultry farming are making an important contribution to the livelihoods of rural households in PNG. An increasing number of farms are being established around major urban markets because of the demand for high quality animal protein with some smallholders adopting appropriate management and nutrition using commercial feeds.

However farm viability is vulnerable due to the rising costs of imported ingredients and the lack of cheap feed made from local ingredients. Local feed resources are available that could be utilized more effectively for feeding fish, pigs and poultry.

Economic modelling from an earlier study indicates that there is a significant reduction in costs when poultry diets are manufactured by mini mills using local feed ingredients. Improving the profitability of the monogastric sector through the use of locally available feed resources has been identified as a high priority by the PNG government, NARI and NFA.

Review meeting participants

The implementation strategy will involve specific business plans for feed mills to be developed using data generated from mini feed mill facilities built in previous ACIAR aquaculture and poultry projects at Goroka, Erap, Aiyura, Labu and Kiunga. Unitech has involved its post graduate students and together with NARI and SARDI scientists, they will evaluate social issues impacting on the development of feed mills and monogastric enterprises and the profitability of various feeding options.

Research facilities at partner institutes and demonstration facilities at NGO sites (CLTC, LDS, OTDF, and HAQDC) will be used to evaluate a range of diets based on site availability of locally available feed resources. Best feeding options will be tested on a number of village farms located near the mini mills.

This project aligns with the vision of the PNG National Agricultural Development Plan (2007-2016) of transforming the agriculture sector into a vibrant and productive economic sector.

The review was attended by over 20 representatives from the project partners.