Agriculture & Fisheries
From The Report: Papua New Guinea 2016
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Home to a remarkable amount of biodiversity, rich volcanic soil, bountiful waterways and a moist tropical climate, Papua New Guinea possesses all the elements to fashion itself into a thriving agricultural exporter. These native assets have supplied the basic natural building blocks providing nourishment to country’s population throughout history, and more recently to the agribusiness industry for exporting cash crops such as coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, copra, rubber and palm oil. Given this abundance of naturally-occurring inputs along with a substantial labour pool already well versed in agriculture cultivation, the only stumbling blocks standing in the way of a robust agro-industry are the means to increase efficiencies throughout the value chain to make production and distribution more competitive.

This chapter contains interviews with John Kasu, Managing Director, National Fisheries Authority; and Robert Nilkare, Country Manager for Papua New Guinea, New Britain Palm Oil Limited; and a roundtable with Alan Bird, Agricultural Development Consultant; Ilan Weiss, Chairman and Executive Director, Innovative Agro Industry; and Sir Brown Bai, Chairman, Rural Industries Council.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Rebuilding efforts: In a sector that remains a key driver of growth, plans are in place to add value and boost efficiency
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Home to a remarkable amount of biodiversity, rich volcanic soil, bountiful waterways and a moist tropical climate, Papua New Guinea possesses all the elements to fashion itself into a thriving agricultural exporter. These native assets have supplied the basic natural building blocks providing nourishment to the country’s population throughout history, and more recently to the agri-business industry for exporting cash crops such as coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, copra, rubber and palm oil. Up…

Interview

Casting a wider net: OBG talks to John Kasu, Managing Director, National Fisheries Authority (NFA)
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Interview:John Kasu How would you assess the potential of the fisheries sector in Papua New Guinea? JOHN KASU: Well the numbers speak for themselves, if you consider that the PNG fisheries zone is 2.4m sq km and is the largest in the South Pacific. This includes an extended reef system, numerous islands and an extensive coastline, creating huge opportunities but also enormous challenges when it comes to monitoring and controlling. The total market value of the PNG catch is estimated to be…

Overview

Nurturing the chain: OBG talks to Allan Bird, Agricultural Development Consultant; Ilan Weiss, Chairman and Executive Director, Innovative Agro Industry; and Sir Brown Bai, Chairman, Rural Industries Council.
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Interview:Allan Bird With commodity prices down, is it time for agriculture to play a bigger role in Papua New Guinea? ALLAN BIRD: The general attitude of subsistence farmers can be constructive when needed but the important part is to understand and identify all the players in the sector. The landscape sector is the visible one because its stakeholders are taxable organisations and therefore show up in statistics. The remainder is made up of approximately 1m households, which are not banked…

Analysis

Stricter measures: The country has tightened regulations in a move towards more sustainable fishing practices
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Encircled by be an exclusive economic zone totalling 2.4m sq km of ocean, PNG’s fisheries play a key role for domestic artisanal fishermen populating the coastal communities and are an important currency earner within the international fishing industry. The largest fishery zone in the South Pacific, these waters are among some of the most productive and diverse in the world, containing an array of valuable operations ranging from inland river fisheries, aquaculture and coastal bêche-de-mer…

Analysis

Latent demand: There is vast scope for the expansion of agri-business
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For the entirety of the island’s history, the vast majority of Papua New Guineans have been able to rely on the land and the sea to provide them with sustenance to meet their daily needs. Endowed with an astounding variety of fruits and vegetables, the average resident does not have to venture far from their front door to find a variety of healthy, nutritious produce. However, as more and more people continue to move to the towns and cities, the country has become increasingly reliant on…

Analysis

Fruitful partnership: A best practices scheme seeks to boost smallholder yields
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Even as investment dollars and export revenues have driven Papua New Guinea’s economy forward and provided new-found wealth to a segment of the population, large numbers of rural inhabitants who rely on the agriculture industry for their livelihood have yet to cash in on the country’s wave of prosperity. Because it remains the largest employer in PNG, agriculture is the lynchpin in many assistance programmes seeking to spur economic development among the lower-income demographics across…

Interview

Taking it seriously: OBG talks to Robert Nilkare, Country Manager for Papua New Guinea, New Britain Palm Oil Limited
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Interview:Robert Nilkare What are the biggest challenges the palm oil industry faces currently in PNG? ROBERT NILKARE: The palm oil industry in PNG has been suffering from the lack of infrastructure affecting the overall agricultural sector. The biggest challenges facing the industry is public infrastructure, the Oil Palm Industry Corporation (OPIC) and law and order. The overall success of the palm oil industry has attracted growing interest from the government lately; however, the lack…