Overview
The aim of the project was to improve the economic returns and income of sweetpotato farmers and other supply chain players, through adoption of improved sweetpotato postharvest and marketing practices.
Sweetpotato is the major staple food crop in Papua New Guinea, and surpluses have historically been sold at local markets. However, increasingly sweetpotato is grown specifically for the markets in urban centres, such as Lae and Port Moresby, where demand for good quality sweetpotato is increasing due to economic growth and urbanisation. However, marketing opportunities have been constrained by the transport system and marketing infrastructure, as well as limited postharvest management, value chain coordination, and market orientation on the part of farmers and value chain players.
The main research questions to be answered by the project were:
- What are the most effective ways of reducing postharvest losses and the costs of marketing?
- What are the major constraints to the adoption of postharvest technologies, and to group marketing and collective action?
- What are the most appropriate strategies to overcome those constraints?
- What are the potential impacts of planned interventions on smallholder farmers?
