During 2003, significant progress was made on all three sub-projects. The year began with a significant capacity-building exercise (Subproject 3) in which the four PNG members of the research team were brought to the University of Canberra for a two-week intensive training and development course on marketing, supply chain management and group facilitation. The course was developed and presented by the Australian members of the research team. As part of that course, the research team developed an action plan for mapping the marketing system. The action plan involved: (1) secondary data analysis, (2) process mapping of the supply chain, (3) semi-structured interviews of the major stakeholders of the marketing system, (4) a random sample survey of growers and consumers and (5) a supply chain profitability analysis. The mapping exercise was carried out by the PNG-based members of the research team under the direction of project leader Prof. Spriggs. While some of the work was directed from Canberra, Prof. Spriggs also made three field trips to PNG (8 weeks in total) in pursuit of this sub-objective.
One of the issues to emerge from the field trips was the lack of specific equipment necessary for carrying out the process mapping (e.g. data loggers), and these were subsequently funded by ACIAR. The equipment has proven extremely beneficial and is currently being used at the Fresh Produce Development Company (one of the partner institutions) in pursuit of Subproject 2. The mapping exercise is ongoing, but it has already provided crucial information on the problems limiting the development of the marketing system as well as pointing the way towards possible solutions. For example, it is clear that the problems have as much to do with a lack of human infrastructure (communication and coordination) as they do with physical infrastructure. Of the five activities laid down in the mapping action plan, (3) has been completed while (1), (2) and (5) are well under way. Activity (4) has been left until 2004.
In the last quarter of 2003, the focus of the project shifted from the mapping exercise (Subproject 1) to facilitating the change process (Subproject 2). The information obtained to date from the mapping exercise was used as input into Subproject 2. This subproject began in September with a series of focus groups in Goroka, Lae and Port Moresby, facilitated by Prof. Chambers with Prof. Spriggs playing the role of knowledge navigator. Then in November, a mini-workshop was held for women involved in the fresh produce industry, recognising the special and important role that women have in the fresh produce industry and giving them an opportunity for their voices to be heard, something that is hard for them in mixed group discussions. The initial expectation of 15 women representatives in attendance eventually swelled to 25.
The year culminated in the main Workshop in late November in Goroka. (Participants came from all elements of the marketing system (grower leaders, transporters, wholesalers, banks and supermarkets as well as provincial and national government representatives). It was planned to limit the number of participants to 30, but the eventual number was 36. Many participants commented on how it was practical and, at the same time, inclusive. The Workshop led to a Concept Paper for the development of the marketing system and to the establishment of a steering committee of stakeholders chaired by Prof. Spriggs.
The project work during the first year of this three-year project has set the stage for significant developments to take place in 2004. Prof. Spriggs is scheduled to return to PNG to work with the steering committee and representatives of the National Government of PNG, to flesh out the Concept Paper as a basis for a comprehensive program for the development of the physical and human infrastructure of the Highlands-based fresh produce marketing system.

This is an action research project concerned with socio-economic change through community-based decision-making where the community of interest involves all the stakeholders in this marketing system. Action research involves the four-phase cycle of (1) research; (2) planning; (3) action; and (4) reflection. During the first year of the project (2003) the emphasis was on research (mapping the marketing system) and planning (via the planning workshop in November 2003), while in 2004, the emphasis shifted more towards action and reflection.
At the planning workshop, the stakeholder participants called for development of the physical infrastructure for marketing fresh produce. Hence this became a major focus of the action taken in 2004. The stakeholders had a particular view about the shape of the infrastructural development. This was the idea of consolidation depots in the major Highland centres (Goroka and Mt. Hagen) with satellite district depots in the production regions serving these consolidation depots. Supporting these new storage and handling facilities would be a well-developed communications infrastructure and transport equipment. In addition, the stakeholder participants viewed it as important that competition exist between buyers at these consolidation and district depots in order that the benefits of the new infrastructure be shared between buyers and sellers.
During 2004, the main action involved: (a) publicising the decisions of the planning workshop to different elements of the national government, to various donor agencies and to other relevant parties; (b) working with the FPDC to develop and fine-tune the plan for market infrastructure development and (c) to develop a proposal for funding from donor agencies. The main avenue for reflection was a steering committee made up of representatives of the marketing system. This committee met three times during the year to review and revise (where necessary) the elements of the action plan.
There were still some research activities that carried over from the first year. These included: (a) a survey of supermarket consumers to discover their characteristics and their preferences with respect to fresh produce; (b) the development of a proposal for an improved agricultural extension system to support an improved marketing system for fresh produce; (c) a survey of women participants in the marketing system to discover what changes can be introduced that would improve their experience; and (d) trials with shipments of produce from the Highlands to Port Moresby to discover the weak links in the logistics chain.
Capacity-building of the PNG-based members of the research team took place primarily through the above research activities as well as the co-writing of conference papers and a manuscript for journal publication. We also had a team meeting at the halfway point of the project to reflect on the action research methodology and how this had been implemented in this project. Other capacity-building exercises included: (a) working with the PNG-based members of the research team to develop their work programs (using time management techniques) and (b) conducting a training program (funded separately by ACIAR) for PNG-based research scientists on economics and marketing.

This is the third year of an action research project concerned with socio-economic change through community-based decision-making where the community of interest involves all the stakeholders in this marketing system. During the first two years of the project, the emphasis of stakeholders was on improving the physical aspects of the marketing system. However, during the third year (and in particular during the Project Extension phase), greater emphasis has been given to improving the human aspects of the marketing system. The main shift in emphasis came about during the second workshop held in April 2005 when much more attention was paid to the need to: (1) improve buyer-seller relationships; (2) build farmer-to-farmer relationships; (3) improve the marketing skills of farmers; and (4) improve the access of women and youth to the fresh produce marketing system. By the time of this second stakeholder workshop, most of the concerns about improving the physical aspects of the marketing system were already being addressed through the development and implementation of a market infrastructure strategy (which involves consolidating fresh produce in the Highlands prior to movement down to coastal markets). However, there were still a couple of important issues around the physical aspects including: (1) the problem of securing access to land for the consolidation depot in Goroka; and (2) the lack of a quality management system for fresh produce.
The main activities on this project during 2005 include:
1. Second stakeholder workshop (led by Professor Barbara Chambers) - April 2005
2. Development of proposals for 3 complementary projects aimed at improving the quality of fresh produce (written by Professor John Spriggs):
(1) Development of whole-of-chain quality management system for fresh produce from the Highlands of PNG (conducted by the Department of Applied Science, Unitech)
(2) Quality Improvement Project for Fresh Produce in Eastern Highlands Province (conducted by Smallholder Support Services Pilot Project (SSSPP) and FPDA)
(3) Preservation and Storage of Perishable Fresh Fruits and Vegetables for the Highlands of PNG (conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Unitech)
These 3 projects have now been approved for funding. Projects (1) and (3) are being funded by ACIAR (as part of an extension to this project) and Project (2) is being funded by ADB.
3. Airfreight trials involving perishable fresh produce being shipped from farmer groups in the Eastern Highlands Province to a wholesaler in Port Moresby (conducted by FPDA)
4. Development of a concept paper re market infrastructure development - this concerned a proposal to relocate the proposed consolidation depot from Goroka to Kainantu (written by Prof. Spriggs and Mr. Hans-W Ehmig). [Note: The concept paper was unanimously accepted by the FPDA Board and access to land in Kainantu is currently being secured for the consolidation depot.]
5. Development of a post-harvest training manual for farmers (conducted by FPDA)
6. Survey of supermarket managers and Institutional Buyers in Lae and Port Moresby (conducted by NARI)
7. Completion of draft paper on "Increasing the Autonomy of Women as a Means to Improving Community Well-Being and Facilitating Development: An Exploratory Study in the Highlands of PNG (conducted by Ms.Taree Brearley - undergraduate student at University of Canberra)
8. Presentation of Paper entitled "Think Local Before Going Global: Understanding the Consumer Preferences for Fresh Produce in PNG Supermarkets" (by Norah Omot, Jessie Anjen and John Spriggs) at the International Symposium on Supply Chain Management, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
9. Presentation of Paper entitled "Connecting People in Cross-Cultural Agribusiness: The Case of the Fresh Produce Supply Chain in PNG" (by John Spriggs and Barbara Chambers) at the 2005 Development Studies Association Annual Conference in Milton Keynes, UK

Capacity-building of the PNG-based members of the research team took place primarily through the above R&D activities as well as the co-writing of conference papers. Prof. Spriggs also arranged specialized training for Mr. Vincent Hagulaha (the new Quality Management Officer, FPDA) at the University of Sydney as part of the project listed at 2(2) above and funded by ADB.

Progress on the various activities undertaken is as follows:
1. Market infrastructure development. This was identified early on in the project as the number one priority by stakeholders in the fresh produce marketing system. As a result, our research team developed a concept paper in 2004 for market infrastructure development in the Eastern Highlands Province involving a consolidation depot in Goroka (the Provincial capital) and four satellite district depots in the major producing areas. This was submitted to the PNG Incentive Fund and the National Government for funding and was approved by both in principle. This was followed in 2005 by preliminary investigations and negotiations by FPDA staff to obtain title to the land needed for the depots. These negotiations proved to be quite difficult particularly for the consolidation depot and resulted in our research team developing a new proposal in late 2005 to move the consolidation depot from Goroka to Kainantu. The FPDA Board approved this change and following protracted negotiations an acceptable lease arrangement was reached in late 2006. FPDA has also reached acceptable lease arrangements for 3 of the 4 sites proposed for the district depots. Construction of the consolidation depot is planned to commence in May 2007 using funds from the National Government. It was envisaged that funds for the district depots would come from the PNG Incentive Fund. However, because of the prolonged uncertainty with respect to land acquisition, this funding source has apparently lapsed.
2. Quality Management. In 2006, a sub-project on quality management was established with the Food Science Department of Unitech aimed at improving quality management in fresh produce supply chains. The aim of this project is to develop protocols for a whole-of-supply chain quality management program along fresh produce supply chains. The project worked with a specific case study of a tomato supply chain from Goroka to Lae. A progress report on this sub-project has been completed with final report due at the end of June 2007.
3. Evaporative Cooler Technology. A sub-project to explore the potential for low-cost evaporative cooler technology was established with the Agriculture Department at Unitech. This involved construction of an evaporative cooler room at the University of Goroka farm and testing the shelf life of different types of fresh produce. An interim report has been produced, with final report due by the end of June 2007. The researchers have found that the evaporative cooler was successful in keeping produce about 5 degrees cooler on average than ambient temperature, but more importantly the temperature was kept much more constant. This had a significant effect on extending shelf life of the produce involved.
4. Communications Technology (two-way radios). In 2006, a sub-project to evaluate the use of two-way radios in the Highlands was established with FPDA. Interviews were carried out on users of two-way radios (TWRs) in Simbu and Western Highlands Province with a view to determining whether their use should be expanded within FPDA. In their final report, the researchers find that users find the TWRs to be very useful as a communications device and they highly recommend expanding their use in FPDA.
5. Post-harvest Resource Manual. In 2006, a sub-project was established with FPDA to write a resource manual covering the basics of post-harvest management of fresh produce in a PNG context. The objective was to produce an extension aid for farmers and other participants of the fresh produce marketing system. The final draft is scheduled for completion in March 2007 and is then planned for publication by ACIAR.
6. Improved understanding of buyer preferences. This sub-project was established with NARI in 2005 to build up an understanding of the preferences of buyers in the formal and informal markets in the major urban centres, Lae and Port Moresby During 2005, the focus was on improving our understanding of the preferences of consumers who purchase at supermarkets. During 2006, the focus shifted to a study of the preferences of supermarket managers and institutional buyers as well as a study of the preferences of consumers who purchase in the informal markets. Both studies have been written up in reports and the results of the study of supermarket managers and institutional buyers have been presented at an international development conference (DEVNET 2006, November 2006). Among other things, this paper shows significant differences between supermarket managers' perceptions of what their customers want and what their customers actually said they wanted.
7. Airfreight Shipments. During 2006, FPDA attempted to commercialize the airfreight shipments that we began as part of our project in 2005. During the 2005 airfreight trials, we showed that air shipments of fresh produce from the Goroka area to Port Moresby was commercially viable but that it required careful management (of both the produce and the finances) to succeed. The 2006 airfreight shipments were managed by FPDA on a cost-recovery basis.
8. Women and Youth. This sub-project was established with FPDA in 2005 and continued into 2006. In 2005, the focus was on improving participation of women in the supply chain while in 2006, the focus turned to youth. There was a strong perception among the stakeholders that encouraging more youth participation in the production and marketing of fresh produce would help to reduce the drift of youth to the cities. The youth study began with a literature review and key informant interviews. This led to the development of a concept paper and assistance with a national youth survey (stimulated by our project). Our project has provided part of the funding for the youth survey and is assisting in the analysis of results.