Palm oil has long been a success story for Papua New Guinea’s agricultural sector, with large plantations providing the bulk of agricultural export revenues and serving as a crucial component of economic diversification efforts to balance out the heavily weighted extractive industry sectors. Established in the 1960s, the original Hoskins and Bialla (now Hargy Oil Palms) oil palm plantations were set up in New Britain according to the nucleus estate smallholder (NES) model. The NES system was designed to be not only profitable but to also benefit local communities which were already largely dependent on agriculture as a means of subsistence. Under this system the

Endowed with some of the most bountiful fisheries in the world, PNG’s waters have traditionally supplied abundant amounts of protein- and nutrient-rich food for settlements dotting the country’s 17,000 km of coastline. While seafood remains a key staple for many Papua New Guineans’ diets, the presence of highly sought after catches, such as tuna, prawns, lobster and others, has fuelled a growing commercial industry. Participants operate a diverse array of fisheries across the country in varied marine ecosystems, with small-scale artisanal communities, local small and medium-sized enterprises, and large-scale international purse seine fishing operations. In all, PNG boasts one of the largest fishery zones in

The past decade have seen trying times for cocoa farmers in Papua New Guinea. They have dealt with devastating attacks by the maligned cocoa pod borer (CPB) starting in 2006, followed by a drop in cocoa market prices which have brought the industry to the brink of collapse in recent years. Concerted efforts to revive the crop were led by farmers, international aid organisations and local trade organisations such as the Cocoa and Coconut Institute, and are now beginning to show results, with producers and exporters turning the corner in 2014. Domestic Production Domestic cocoa production is forecast to reach 42,000 tonnes for the 2014/15