As the Pangu-led Government’s ‘Take Back PNG’ agenda is being amplified, the Government is serious in increasing the population of livestocks around the country.

There is an urgent need to beef up Papua New Guinea’s dwindling livestock numbers, Agriculture and Livestock Minister, John Simon says.

He also said he was ashamed as minister to see PNG importing beef from the small Pacific nation of Vanuatu.

Minister Simon said this at Corn Farm outside Mt Hagen on Tuesday when launching the Highlands Abattoir Project, in the vicinity of the Highlands Agriculture Training Institute (HATI).

He launched the project after Lands Secretary Benjamin Samson handed over the title for the old abattoir land at HATI to Livestock Development Corporation (LDC) Acting-Chairman Martin Ginyaru, witnessed by him, LDC Managing-Director Terry Koim and other invited guests.

This is the first of many titles to be given to LDC under the Government’s State Land Reclamation Project as directed by Prime Minister, James Marape.

“We want to bring in more cows here, there must be a lot more cows here,” Minister Simon told the crowd.

“Our livestock numbers are down and must be increased.

“Our demand for meat in the country is so much that it is still being imported.

“We are even importing beef from the small Pacific island of Vanuatu, something that makes me ashamed.

“It shows that we are lazy.”

Minister Simon said the Marape Government wanted to take back all LDC land throughout the country, including rundown abattoirs and stockyards, and fill these up with livestock.

“We will import more cattle, sheep and goats which you people can look after,” he said.

“We want to have more sheep so that we can stop importing lamb flaps from New Zealand.

“When we have good abattoirs, holding yards and stock yards, we will look at bringing in more cattle into the country.

“This is so that we can increase the cattle head in the country to 500,000 to one million.

“We have all the land here, which we must use, so that we can stop importing meat from overseas.”

Minister Simon thanked LDC and Lands Department for making the abattoir possible, and appealed to landowners to work with the project.

“Work with us and we will help you to set up your livestock projects,” he told landowners.

“We are here to work with you.”