Francisca together with the President of PNG Women in Agriculture Development, Crawford Fund and Australian journalists

(Tetum)Sra. Fransisca Magdalena Pinto from Maliana is one of more than 200 participants who attended the 2-day conference held at Novo Turismo. Her story enlivened the audience and kept them engaged and animated. 

She’s been working closely with MAF-SoL program since 2009,  initially as an on-farm-demonstration-trial (OFDT) farmer testing sweet potato and cassava varieties.  Then she became a MAF contract grower of certified seed and is now an active member of a commercial seed producer (CSP) group named ‘Unidade Sameklot’.

Francisca’s cassava plantation with different varieties supported by MAF-SoL

The good yield she gets from MAF released varieties not only provides enough food for her family but also enabled her to contribute to the family’s income. She was able to cover the education costs of her children and to purchase materials to improve her house and buy a motorcyle.

She is very appreciative of the support she got from MAF staff and hopes the National Seed System will  continue to provide good seed of productive varieties of crops even after the SoL program ends.

Francisca with a journalist from ABC Radio for an interview

Her hard work and success is inspiring the other families in the community. She would like to encourage the youth to engage in agriculture activities since there are plenty of unused land in the country.