Papua New Guinea - Country Strategy

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

Country Strategy

The ACIAR program aims through applied technical, social, economic and policy research to achieve practical impacts for PNG smallholders, consumers, industry and government. To achieve these goals, ACIAR facilitates and supports research and development activities for efficient use of sustainable resources for more productive and sustainable agricultural systems. Emphasis is placed on the social and economic context 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 major commodities such as sweet potato, coffee, oil palm and cocoa. Program design also encourages private sector, industry and 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, between $ 1-1.5 m is invested by ACIAR annually on training in PNG.

AusAID and ACIAR work closely together in Papua New Guinea. AusAID co-invests into ACIAR-managed project activities, while ACIAR works closely with relevant AusAID programs, particularly the Agricultural Research and Development Support Facility.

The Papua New Guinea Medium Term Development Strategy 2005-2010

The PNG Government has also developed a Papua New Guinea - Australia Development Cooperation Strategy 2006-2010 [15]. It aims to help PNG reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. The strategy supports the PNG Government's efforts to implement its MTDS, and has a strong emphasis on sustainability and capacity building.

Australia - Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum

The 18th Australia - Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum took place in Papua New Guinea on 23 April covering issues including development assistance, police and defence cooperation, the Kokoda Track and climate change. Details of the forum are available online [16], as is the joint statement on the outcomes [17] of the forum.

The Australian Government also released a Pacific Economic Survey 2008 [18] in March 2008. The survey looks at the economic position of countries in the region, including East Timor.