A Year in Papua New Guinea

Looking ahead to the last week I wasn't sure how I would fill it in. In the end I was quite busy. My boss, Laurie, decided we needed a meeting in Port Moresby to progress the journals so I flew there and back on Tuesday. We had some senior people in attendance this time so hopefully they will take on our recommendations, find an editor and the journals will survive. I had a second paper ready to publish and this took a couple of days to copyedit. I was going to publish it on Thursday but the author asked me to hold it until the Friday as that was his birthday. How could I refuse? Jenny's article for Harvest magazine was fast-tracked and was also published on Friday just before we knocked off for good. She was pleased! See  https://journal.pngagriculture.net/index.php/harvest We were a bit worried about the send-off we might receive (based on a past experience in East Africa) but it was low-key and very pleasant with a few short speeches and modest gift giving. Deputy Director G...

A sunset recently - carefully cropped to avoid ugly razor-wire and buildings. On return from New Ireland we prepared for a week of training. NARI staff from Aiyura Highlands Regional Centre came down to Lae and were joined by a few from NARI Port Moresby, the Coconut Industry Board in Madang and PNG Biosecurity folk from Lae, Port Moresby and Rabaul. With colleague Boney Wera we ran Scientific Writing, Spreadsheet Basics, Experimental Design and Data Analysis, Soft Skills and Leadership and Supervisory skills. The shuffling of people through the available accommodation sadly meant that a few people couldn't do everything they wanted. Otherwise it went well with lots of positive feedback. The NARI guesthouse, drivers and catering staff do a great job. Me delivering Scientific Writing training. You haven't done the training unless you have a certificate to prove it.  You can pick the trainers as they are the ones without certificates. Following that we geared up for the 2026 Food...