Find Agriculture expertise in Papua New Guinea
- Industry
- Development
Industry
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries contribute 31% of Papua New Guinea’s GDP (2010) and agriculture accounts for 2.5% of land use, with almost 90% of the population relying on agriculture to provide a subsistence livelihood (2008). The main agricultural products are coffee, cocoa, copra, palm kernels, tea, sugar, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, vanilla, poultry and pork. Of these the principal export products are coffee, cocoa, palm oil and kernels and copra. However, the country’s rugged, mountainous terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure are challenging in terms of effective commercial exploitation. The Investment Promotion Authority of Papua New Guinea maintains that the most lucrative investment opportunities in the sector are in coffee, oil palm, cocoa, coconut, copra and spice crops. The Department of Agriculture and Livestock is responsible for the effective promotion of agricultural development.
Development
The Department of Agriculture and Livestock is responsible for the development of the sector and runs several programmes for development and sustainability, with some input from charitable and other funding bodies. One programme for development which it runs is the Smallholders Support Services Pilot Project, which concentrates on increasing agricultural production amongst small scale farmers in the Easter Highlands and Morobe Provinces. Better access to agricultural technology will increase smallholders’ productivity and income, and ensure sustainability for their food source in the future. In association with Agricultural Development in the American Pacific (ADAP) Project, the government of Papua New Guinea supports several education centres which focus on fisheries, forestry and agriculture.