Rural poverty in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is a resource-rich, low-income country of approximately 6.5 million people, most of whom live in rural areas and depend on small-scale agriculture for their livelihoods.

Despite strong growth in the country’s large extractive industries – drawing upon substantial reserves of gold, oil, gas, copper, silver and timber – widespread rural poverty persists. Poor rural children face prospects of receiving less schooling and health outreach than the previous generation. Malnutrition among children is an especially prevalent problem.

The agriculture sector accounts for about a third of Papua New Guinea’s gross domestic product. Coffee and cocoa are the main cash crops, employing about half of the total labour force in their production, processing and sale.

Coffee production is the backbone of the rural economy in the highlands provinces, and almost 90 per cent of the coffee crop is produced by an estimated 370,000 smallholder producers nationwide. Productivity is relatively low, however, with yields averaging 30 per cent to 50 per cent of their potential, because smallholders lack adequate access to agricultural inputs, training and technologies.

Approximately a fifth of Papua New Guinea’s rural population is engaged in cocoa production, processing and sale. East New Britain province and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville produce 70 per cent of total cocoa exports. But here again, yields and quality are below their potential. The appearance in 2006 of the cocoa pod borer, an invasive moth species, harmed the economy in the country’s rural communities, which now need support in rehabilitation and continued pest control.

Papua New Guinea also has abundant fisheries and one of the most significant areas of largely intact tropical forest in the world. Forests are a vital resource for the local population, particularly in remote areas, providing food, fibre, building materials and other support. The Papua New Guinea Forest Authority estimates that approximately 60 per cent of the total area of the country is covered by natural forests.

Sources: IFAD, UNDP, The World Bank