This project aimed to enhance the livelihoods of smallholder balsa growers, improve value recovery for balsa growers and processors, and provide the basis for strengthening the position of Papua New Guinea in the international balsa market.
With an estimated 1500 smallholder balsa growers, and a workforce of 2500 – 3000 engaged in balsa harvest, transport, processing and export, these activities operate under the regulatory oversight of the PNG Forest Authority, which also plays an ‘honest broker’ role in transactions between companies and smallholders. Balsa