![]() THE Australian awards scholarship builds confidence and improves soft skills, an Australian scholarship awardee says. Noah Saruwa, 34, from Northern who is studying for masters in agriculture in plant protection at the University of Queensland, made this known after a symposium in Melbourne last December. “The symposium was an eye-opener for me as I learned that several plant diseases in PNG such as the Bogia coconut syndrome and banana wilt associated phytoplasma were vectored by hemipterans,” he said. “What’s a hemipteran you may ask. “Commonly called true bugs, they range from cicadas and leafhoppers to bed and assassin bugs. “There are more than 80,000 species and have piercing and sucking mouths to extract plant sap or suck blood.
“Enemies to agriculture.” Growing up in his home village in Northern, Saruwa and his family’s daily lives depended on farming. Seeing crops affected by pests and diseases inspired Noah to pursue plant protection studies. While studying at the University of Queensland, he attended the symposium that was held in Melbourne last December. Noah was the only Papua New Guinean among plant scientists from Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and America. He applied for the Australia Awards scholarship to study for his master’s while working as a plant health scientist with the PNG National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority. “I would highly recommend this scholarship to any Papua New Guinean who wishes to pursue postgraduate studies,” he said. “Not only will you learn from some of the best universities in the world, but also build networks through participation in such on-award enrichment programmes. “Being exposed to such an international learning environment also builds confidence and improves your soft skills. “It was such a rewarding experience for me both professionally and personally thus far.” From the symposium, Noah learned about the different methods used to diagnose and trap hemipterans, and the importance of viral diseases affecting the agriculture system. “Even though there is no cure for the plant diseases caused by viruses and phytoplasmas vectored by insects, their spread can be reduced through the improvement of internal biosecurity, surveillance and early warning systems,” he said. Noah learned that pest diagnosis, important in agriculture. “Surveillance and monitoring help identify the pests and diseases we have on our shores, while correct diagnosis helps identify which insects are pests and which are not, and the right control strategies are recommended and applied,” he said. “It is imperative that we improve our pest and disease surveillance.” Apply for : Australian Awards Scholarships The National / PNG Education News Comments are closed.
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