09 October 2013
PNG Researcher wins Prestigious International Award
Dr Murom Banabas is the first Papua New Guinean and Pacific Islander to receive the internationally prestigious ‘Crawford Fund 2013 Derek Tribe Award’.
The international award is made biennially to a citizen of a developing country in recognition of their distinguished contributions to the application and promotion of research in agriculture or natural resource management in one or more developing countries.
Dr Banabas, a leading agricultural scientist and head of Agronomy at the Papua New Guinea Oil Palm Research Association received the award at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation on 1 October in Canberra, Australia, where Dr Banabas also presented a seminar on his research in PNG.
Being the first recipient in the region to receive the award is a great achievement for Dr Banabas and for PNG. “I see it as showing others we can be just as good as anyone in the region and the world and a good example for others in PNG to follow,” said Dr Banabas.
The award recognises his outstanding work over the last 22 years in improving the sustainability and productivity of oil palm in Papua New Guinea through research and technical assistance.
Dr Banabas knows rural farming like the back of his hand. Originally from a village in the remote Finisterre Ranges, he is dedicated to translating complex scientific information into more simple practices to improve the lives of Papua New Guinean farmers.
The ‘Crawford Fund 2013 Derek Tribe Award’ recognises Dr Banabas’ great interest, efforts and passion in working with villagers. In particular, he developed a methodology for smallholder farmers to grow food crops in association with cash crops.
The cropping system has since proven to be productive and resilient while overcoming production constraints to plantation crops.
Dr Banabas leads a couple of research projects funded by the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR), and he has been the recipient of the ACIAR John Dillon Fellowship, which provided him with leadership training.
ACIAR has been working with Dr Barnabas and his team for more than a decade, looking at practical measures to boost yields, protect the environment and guarantee future food security.