Measuring Impact

Research that works for developing countries and Australia

 

Papua New Guinea - Country Strategy

  1. Overview
  2. Country Strategy
  3. Priorities
  4. Key Program Managers
  5. Current Projects
  6. Concluded Projects
  7. Achievements
  8. Relevant Publications
  9. Country News and Stories
  10. Project Locations
  11. Country Office
  12. Country Portfolio
  13. AusAid and Other Briefs
  14. Fellowship Statistics

Country Strategy

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) program supports the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Government's Medium Term Development Strategy (MTDS) 2005-10, in particular the priorities to promote economic growth in the primary sector, comprising agriculture, forestry and fisheries and to empower smallholders to mobilise their own resources for higher incomes. To achieve these goals, ACIAR facilitates and supports (R&D) activities for efficient use of sustainable resources to enable more productive and sustainable agricultural systems. Emphasis is placed on the social and economic contexts of the research, particularly with respect to involvement of women farmers. There are emphases on plantation crops, root and other horticultural crops, forestry and fisheries. These include exported and domestically traded commodities that generate smallholder income and underpin improved food security and economic development. PNG has several significant competitive advantages in relation to the production of timber. The opportunity exists to develop a timber growing and processing industry many times larger than the current log export industry from primary forests.

The ACIAR program includes tightly linked clusters of projects addressing problems faced by smallholders in major commodities such as sweetpotato, coffee, oil palm and cocoa.

Program design also encourages private sector, industry and non-government organisation (NGO) linkages in design and delivery of activities. Through addressing issues of biosecurity and sustainable management of land, forest and fisheries resources, sustainability of renewable resources is encouraged. The program has a strong emphasis on capacity building, with high priority given to both training within projects and postgraduate training. In addition to the project expenditures shown above, about $1 million is invested by ACIAR annually on training in PNG.

AusAID and ACIAR work closely together in PNG. AusAID co-invests ACIAR-managed project activities, while ACIAR contributes to relevant AusAID programs, particularly the Agricultural Research and Development Support Facility (ARDSF).