The project inception meeting was held at CIC, Goroka on 24 February 2010, where the work plan for Year One of the project was presented, discussed and accepted.
Following the project inception meeting the research team visited several potential field sites and chose the following core field sites for the research:
1. Asaro area (high accessibility site). Mateyufa Village where one project member from NARI has been involved in soil nutrition studies for some time. High level of livelihood diversification and some famers leaving coffee. Nahoma and Kenenba are two villages near Mateyufa which have been receiving CIC PRAP extension. They will be part of the Asaro investigation.
2. Bena area (relatively accessible site). Fumali and Kokiniga villages/hamlets. Have a very good service provider who appears to be having some success in raising productivity amongst his farmer group.
3. Marawaka site (remote site). There are several villages in close proximity and it is likely that sample households will be drawn from at least three of the following villages: Garipmei, Marawaka Station, Kwasilo, Marawaka Village, Managiri, Jomuru and Wauko. Farmers in this area practice a complex nutrient management system with pig husbandry an important component of the farming system.
4. Baira Village (remote site). Monpi Sustainable Services are working with growers in this area and have obtained coffee certification for groups of farmers. Coffee farmers have two types of coffee gardens - high altitude gardens in forested areas and lower altitude and more productive coffee gardens in Imperata dominated vegetation. There are very few pigs in Baira, but large numbers of goats thereby providing important contrasts with the Marawaka farming system.
On a second field trip in the last two weeks of May, the project team designed and field tested the survey instrument for the 100 household survey in each of the core field sites. The questionnaire incorporates sections on household livelihood strategies, an assessment of farmer technical knowledge of coffee and NRM practices of farm families.
The first round of surveys is to be carried out in June.

The project has three broad objectives:
Identify the main socio-economic factors affecting the productivity of smallholders, including how they interact with nutrient management strategies and the uptake of extension and new technologies to design better targeted intervention strategies to strengthen smallholder livelihoods.
Document the current status of soil fertility and the pathways of nutrient movement into, through, and out of smallholder coffee and food gardens to identify points of vulnerability to nutrient loss and points of intervention to maximise nutrient retention or accumulation.
Design and test farmer-driven extension initiatives for mobilising labour and improving nutrient acquisition, retention and use in coffee and food gardens to improve the uptake of technologies and extension strategies.
Four core field sites have been selected for the study:
1. Asaro area, Daulo District (high accessibility site). From 26 September to 10 October, 2010, a socio-economic survey of 103 households and 103 coffee gardens was conducted in Kenemba and Nahoma villages. The villages have relatively high levels of livelihood diversification with many farmers engaged in vegetable production (carrots, broccoli, cabbage, bulb onion and potato) for the Goroka, Lae and Madang markets. At the time of fieldwork vegetable production was severely affected by an extended drought. The primary coffee gardens were inspected for coffee health, shade and ground cover condition, and a selection of coffee trees were measured for height and trunk diameter. Coffee garden boundaries were recorded.
From 9th to 23rd May, a more intensive survey was conducted. A subset of the above households (24) was selected and all coffee gardens (42) located and boundaries recorded. Farmers were interviewed about daily activities over a period of 10 days. Where such activities involved gardens; a further set of questions relating to nutrient management were invoked. A smaller subset of these gardens (26) was chosen for soil, leaf and berry sampling from all coffee gardens. Samples are being processed for analysis.
2. Bena area, Bena District (relatively accessible site). The original field sites of Fumali and Kokiniga village/hamlet were not able to be visited because of an outbreak of tribal war in the area. The research was moved to the new site of Sogomi Village. Sogomi consists of five large hamlets and several smaller ones, and the area is renowned for its pineapples and many farmers also produce vegetables for the Goroka, Lae and Madang markets. From 15-27 November, 2010, a socio-economic survey of 91 households and 91 coffee gardens was conducted in the hamlets of Kayufa, Sapanaga, Gelehi, Kopona and Meiyawe. Like the Asaro site, Bena was badly affected by a prolonged drought and people were dependent on store foods and their distant 'bush' gardens near the rain forest (their village gardens were severely drought affected). The primary coffee gardens were inspected for coffee health, shade and ground cover condition, and a selection of coffee trees were measured for height and trunk diameter. Coffee garden boundaries were recorded.
Tribal fighting is a major problem in Bena District, but Sogomi Village has a reputation as a model community that promotes peace amongst the Bena tribes.
3. Marawaka area, Obura-Wonenara District (remote site). From 10-25 August, 2010, a socio-economic survey of 96 households and 96 coffee gardens was conducted in the hamlets of Garipmei (Ward 1), Marawaka station (Ward 2), Kwasilo (Ward 3), Marawaka (Ward 4), Maningiri (Ward 4) and Jomuru (Ward 8). Families have very limited access to markets and are highly dependent on coffee for cash income. Farmers practise a complex nutrient management system, with pig husbandry an important component of the farming system. Incomes are very low relative to the Asaro and Bena farmers. The primary coffee gardens were inspected for coffee health, shade and ground cover condition, and a selection of coffee trees were measured for height and trunk diameter. Coffee garden boundaries were recorded.
4. Baira area, Obura-Wonenara District (remote site). Fieldwork at this site has been postponed twice because of accessibility problems. The airstrip was not usable because of very wet conditions, and the site is currently not accessible by walking because rivers are swollen and dangerous to cross. The first round of fieldwork already carried out at the other three sites has been deferred. Coffee farmers have two types of coffee gardens - high altitude gardens in forested areas and lower altitude and more productive coffee gardens in Imperata dominated vegetation. Some of these farmers are producing certified coffee in association with Monpi Sustainable Services.
There are few pigs in Baira, but large numbers of goats thereby providing important contrasts with the Marawaka farming system.
With the deferment of the first round of research at Baira, the second stage of research involving a 30 household subsample of the 100 household survey has been brought forward for Asaro (May 2011) and Bena (June 2011). Second round surveys include semi-structured interviews, labour allocation surveys and soil and leaf sampling of coffee gardens.
The project is also investigating the effectiveness of CIC and private sector extension strategies. Detailed surveys have been undertaken of 85 farmers from 9 farmer groups, 15 extension service providers and 14 extension officers. These data are currently being analysed.