Pacific Report

THE AUSTRALIAN Government has agreed to fund the first year of a research project to help South Pa cific food producers improve and increase their exports to Australia and New Zealand.

The project will concentrate on im proving food handling and shipping tech niques for coconuts, bananas and taro, as well as conduct market research and pro motion for a wide range of horticultural products.

Exports of some of these products have been hampered by spoilage and uneven ripening during transit to Australia and New Zealand.

Scientists involved in the initiative have already begun a series of experimental shipments of bananas from the Cook Is lands to Auckland.

An outline of the project was endorsed by several South Pacific nations at a re gional agriculture meeting held in West ern Samoa last October.

The Australian International Devel opment Aid Bureau will pay for the tech nical expertise of a post-harvest horticulturist, as well as the cost of trials and associated research.

The project will be managed by the Australian Centre for International Agri cultural Research.

□ Con Man Jailed In Fiji

IN FIJI, a man accused of cheating people wanting to emigrate to Australia of more than $A30,000 has been jailed for two and a half years. Wasu Dewan Nair, 48, had pleaded not guilty to 14 charges of obtain ing money by false pretences.

Suva Magistrates Court was told that Nair obtained up to SF4OOO a time from 15 people by promising to obtain visas for them to work in Australia.

□ New Military Head For Noumea

THE commander of French forces in New Caledonia, General Michel Franceschi, is to be replaced this month. An announce ment in Paris said the general New Ca ledonia’s military chief for more than three y ears would be succeeded by General Jacques Vidal.

Under General Franceschi’s com mand, French military numbers in New Caledonia have doubled to 6000.

□ Samoa’S Unwelcome Gift

WESTERN Samoan authorities are not pleased by Australia’s gift of a new patrol boat for use in Western Samoa’s waters.

The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, which has drastically re duced the funding previously allocated for the patrol boat’s running costs, says the gift is a classic example of aid that can be a

burden to the economy.

According to the committee, the cost of fuel to run the patrol boat for one day would equal that used by the country’s police force for an entire year.

□ French Technical Aid To Fiji

FRENCH aid in the South Pacific has in creased with the assignment of a French computer expert to manage computer op erations and train staff for an offshore mineral prospecting organisation based in Suva. France is also offering training for personnel for islanders at its new Univer sity in Tahiti.

□ Health On Horseback

THREE aid post orderlies in Papua New Guinea’s Morobe Province have com pleted training in riding and horse man agement in a pilot project to test whether more effective health patrols can be con ducted to remote areas in the mountain ous Morobe province.

Present patrols are infrequent because they are conducted on foot and take a long time. The use of the horses will be ob served over the coming year and if suc cessful, more health workers will be taking to horseback to help promote health in the remote areas.