Photo credit: Department of Agriculture and Livestock The PNG Agriculture Commercialisation and Diversification Project will get US$40 million (K120 million) in financing from the World Bank. The money will help 12 provinces that have been identified establish competitive and varied agricultural value chains for specific commodities like coffee, coc...

Photo: Minister John Simon According to Minister John Simon, the Department of Agriculture and Livestock has the capacity to give the country economic independence within the next five to ten years. He claimed that around 90% of those who reside in rural areas are actively engaged in agriculture. The goal of the government is to increase output and ...

In a bid to enable farmers to put into practice skills acquired during capacity-building trainings, the EU Funded UN Joint STREIT PNG Programme has started distributing tools and materials that will enable rural communities to improve their husbandry practices in cocoa and vanilla blocks. This intervention which started in May has so far distributed to...

A group from the National Fisheries Authority is in General Santos, Philippines, led by board chairman Ango Wangatau, to exchange and gain fisheries expertise and experiences in this region. General Santos is renowned as the Philippines' "Tuna" city capital, and visiting this region provides delegates with first-hand information and improved ideas for ...

After 20 years, the Department of Agriculture and Livestock intends to reorganise and construct a corporate and sector strategy. At the 4th World Food Safety Day, Acting Secretary Dr. Nelson Simbiken stated this. According to Dr. Simbiken, the key to reforming the department is to have a Corporate Plan and a Sector Plan, which DAL does not have. ...

Photo credit: Islands Business Although the economy has diversified, agriculture remains the backbone of Papua New Guinea's economy, providing a living for the majority of the people, according to Institute of National Affairs (INA) executive director Paul Barker. Agriculture, according to Barker, will be critical in securing PNG's economic and empl...

Photo:  EU-STREIT PNG Programme, in its ongoing efforts to build the capacity of rural entrepreneurs and business activities and to create linkages of value chain actors with the public and private sector in the Sepik Region, supports the formation of a Greater Sepik Secretariat Forum. With the backing of the EU Funded UN Joint STREIT PNG Programme,...

According to Madang Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Kevin Murray, the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) project in Madang would increase the province's fisheries industry. Despite the lack of certainty about the project, Murray claimed that residents in the Madang area support it because it will create employment. “A number of canneri...

Dr Nelson Simbiken, the chief executive officer of the Papua New Guinea Spice Business Board (PNGSIB), believes there is an opportunity for corruption in the industry and calls for a revision of the PNG Spice Industry Act of 1989. He added that the board's goal would be to examine the Act and establish authority over the following two years. “The sp...

According to James Marape, East Sepik should become the world's vanilla capital and a cocoa trading hub. This isn't impossible, given that Papua New Guinea – mainly through East Sepik – is one of the world's top vanilla producers. The World Bank estimates that PNG will soon overtake Madagascar as the world's second-largest producer. East Sepik is al...

Photo: PM Marape addressing the people of Mengar James Marape has advised East Sepik residents to invest more in agriculture to strengthen the local and national economies. He made the announcement at Mengar, Wewak, during the inauguration of the K500 million Wewak International Port, which Korea sponsored in collaboration with the Papua New Guinea ...

According to the British High Commission in PNG, Papua New Guinea's specialty coffee has consistently received top cupping scores for its unique and distinctive single-origin Arabica coffee. The coffee was pushed by the UK's trade partnerships programme (UKTP), which was provided through the International Trade Centre, Banz Kofi, and the PNG Coffee Ind...

Since 2003, the Japanese government has provided K19.2 million to encourage rice production in East Sepik and Madang, according to Nobuyuki Watanabe, the Japanese Ambassador to Papua New Guinea. “K11.2million was funded in the first phase of the promotion of smallholder rice production project from December 2003 to November 2008,” he said. “Another ...

According to Coffee Industry Corporation Ltd (CICL) board chairman Jerry Kapka, the increase in the levy on green bean coffee exports from 10t to 20t per kilogramme is reasonable. “The increase is not same as 10t administrative levy. With the current scenario facing the coffee industry, the board has seen the need to have a reserved funding source assi...

Photo: Rocky Roe - ABC According to Ambassador Jernej Videtic, the European Union (EU) is willing to provide Papua New Guinea with hundreds of millions of Kina to help the country complete its forestry reforms. “Some of the areas that the EU will help are in environmental data management for carbon trading, knowledge management, green jobs and growt...

Photo: MP John Simon Local coffee  farmers of Robusta Coffee in PNG will now have the opportunity to export and sell their Robusta Green Beans to Dubai as talks to open trade between the two countries is set to become a reality. PNG’s Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, John Simon said PNG Robusta coffee will be selling at K10 per kilo which is equ...