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Research that works for developing countries and Australia
Papua New Guinea - Priorities
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Priorities
ACIAR has a formal program of consultation with PNG to establish priorities in research collaboration, as well as annual smaller consultations and industry workshops to finetune these priorities. A record of the most recent set of formal consultations, held in May 2008, is provided at www.aciar.gov.au under ‘Partner country priorities / Papua New Guinea’. The ACIAR PNG portfolio emphasises the disciplines of agricultural systems (including postharvest activities); production and protection of root, horticultural and tree crops; and fisheries and forestry. Training priorities are mainly addressed through targeted activities within projects, although support for postgraduate degrees in Australia and an in-country scholarship scheme at the University of Technology, Lae, are also significant contributors to capacity development. The priorities are grouped under the following thematic subprograms.
Subprogram 1: Addressing social, cultural and policy constraints to the adoption of agricultural technologies
- Interventions to overcome cross-cutting social and cultural constraints to smallholder household profitability/productivity based on analysis of:
- land mobilisation issues (tenure, registration, titles, communal)
- applicability of new labour mobilisation models beyond the cocoa and oil palm industries
- impact of smallholder involvement in participatory action, research activities and other group learning processes on adoption of technical innovations
- effects of cultural factors on ability to replicate successful entrepreneurship in agriculture
- analysis of income utilisation, savings incentives and microfinance access in smallholder families, particularly with respect to establishing criteria for successful engagement of women
- Analysis of how current production and marketing systems impact on women in terms of efficiency and equity, and the role and effectiveness of women’s groups in rural industries
- Assessment of the role of cottage industries in contributing to livelihoods and household cash flow, and complementing engagement in formal markets and the national economy
- Economic assessment of the rice trade and rice-based farming systems, including national demand (role of production and imports) and potential returns from investing in technical improvements
- Improved management of water under climate variability and change, including:
- management of water availability to meet market demand and food security
- identification of drought-vulnerable areas in PNG and potential policy and technical interventions
Subprogram 2: Enhancement of smallholder income from horticulture and root crops
- Matching of supply to demand, and marketing of highland root and horticultural crops, including:
- understanding the sector to clarify demand of different product categories in major markets
- understanding the relative effectiveness of different collaborative arrangements for mobilising smallholder farmers from social and cultural perspectives
- economics of storage depots and the role of private sector versus government intervention
- establishment of criteria for productive relationships between smallholder farmers, middlemen and private-sector buyers and sellers
- Application of traditional staple crop varieties (sweetpotato, taro and banana) and identification of suitable crop varieties for processed products
- Identification and development of opportunities and strategies for using floriculture to improve the livelihoods of communities, especially women
- Identification of quarantine barriers to potential export of root crops and flowers to other countries
- Use of legumes and fallow crops for soil fertility improvement and longer term nutrient supply in vegetable production systems
- Analysis of and interventions in market chains for temperate vegetables, including collation of market information and strategies to improve postharvest operations
- Assessment of simple technologies and mechanisation systems for family and community production, postharvest handling and storage of horticultural crops
- Improvement of seed multiplication, distribution and marketing systems, including assessment of strategies for enhancing availability of high-quality seed
- Improved productivity and profitability of sweetpotato-based farming systems, including:
- development of breeding and selection strategies for important traits in sweetpotato for different regions in relation to yield, stress tolerance and consumer preferences
- development of integrated pest, disease, weed and nutrient management strategies
- evaluation of industrial opportunities for processed sweetpotato products
- Identification of promising root crop–legume–tree–livestock systems that provide better use of crop residues for nutrient cycling and local sources of animal feed
Subprogram 3: Improving smallholder returns from export tree crop production and marketing
- Social and economic analysis of incentives for uptake of intensified management systems in cocoa, coffee and oil palm
- Development and application of geographic information system (GIS) databases for coffee, cocoa and oil palm, with a focus on management of pest and disease outbreaks
- Development and smallholder implementation of integrated management systems for major oil palm pests (Zophiuma) and diseases (Ganoderma)
- Assessment of natural resources sustainability indicators for tree crop industries
- Management systems for processing wastes from coffee and other tree crops to underpin development of environmentally sustainable production practices required for certain export markets
Subprogram 4: New livelihoods from smallholder fisheries, aquaculture and forestry
- Use of GIS-based tools that integrate aquaculture into existing land-use systems and socioeconomic contexts
- Small-scale inland aquaculture, including cost-effective feeds and feeding strategies and increased availability of quality fingerlings
- Evaluation of livelihood opportunities in recreational fishing resources such as black bass
- Promotion of enhanced economic returns from agroforestry systems, addressing:
- integration of high-value tree crops into agricultural systems
- germplasm development, delivery and agroforestry demonstration sites
- social, cultural and economic motivations for landowners planting trees
- Social and economic approaches to improve smallholder involvement in forestry and agroforestry, addressing land tenure and user rights issues and participatory processes to foster community engagement
- Improvement in economic returns from timber processing and manufacturing, including economic analysis of sawmilling strategies, improving sawn log recovery and use of small-diameter logs from secondary forests
Subprogram 5: Agricultural biosecurity and sustainable management of forestry and fisheries resources
- Optimisation of economic, social and environmental returns from planted and native forests, particularly addressing landowner land-use options, product diversification and income-earning opportunities for women
- Climate change and sustainable forest management, including research on transparent instruments to foster landowner involvement in carbon trading (through ACIAR collaboration with whole-of-government programs)
- Reafforestation strategies for rehabilitation of degraded areas, including secondary (cutover) forests, mine sites and grasslands, in particular involving management by local communities
- Management of shark fisheries, including target (shark longline) and non-target (tuna, purse seine and longline) fisheries
- Responding to over-fished inshore fisheries through community-based fisheries management, restocking (especially of sea cucumber) and identification of aquaculture-based livelihoods
- Assessment of future risks, control and potential utilisation strategies for invasive or exotic fisheries species
- Strengthening of surveillance systems to monitor and respond to livestock diseases
- Assessment of the impact of cocoa pod borer infestation and potential coffee berry borer infestation on smallholder farmers; implementation of measures to contain their spread, both pre-border and post-border; and development and dissemination of management tactics for established infestations
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