The Fresh Produce Development Agency (FPDA) has underscored the evolving role of Papua New Guinea's fresh produce and horticulture sector, valued at approximately $830 million annually. Despite this, the country allocates around $775 million on food imports, with $16.6 million directed towards fresh produce imports each year. FPDA's CEO, Mark Worinu, highlighted this gap as an opportunity for local farmers to boost production and supply the domestic market. "This demonstrates a significant gap and opportunity for local farmers to increase production and supply the domestic market," Mr. Worinu stated. The agency's focus lies in replacing imports with local production, enhancing market access, and fostering value-added processing industries to benefit smallholder farmers and agribusinesses.
These insights were presented at a high-level agriculture meeting chaired by Prime Minister James Marape. The report emphasized the role of fresh produce in import substitution, food security, and employment generation, detailing 2024 achievements, challenges, and a strategic roadmap for 2025 and beyond.
The FPDA's 2024 achievements included strengthening farmer capacity and market access, with notable progress in farmer training, production expansion, market development, and economic impact. Approximately 6008 farmers received training in technical farming, market access, and production, while 550 farmers were profiled and supported with extension services. Collectively, these farmers earned around $3.6 million from fresh produce sales.
Production of key crops saw an increase, with assorted vegetable production reaching 2,423 tons for major markets. The local potato industry produced 15,141 tons of Ware-G5 potatoes, compared to 10,097 tons of imports, emphasizing the need for scaling local production. The local potato production was valued at $13.2 million, while imports were valued at $15.1 million. Bulb onion production grew by 4%, reaching 3,000 tons, up from 2,000 tons in 2023, with a value of $1.4 million, compared to $613,000 in 2023. Imported onion volume stood at 10,457 tons, valued at $15.6 million, highlighting the need for local industry growth.
In downstream processing and MSME development, FPDA facilitated the establishment of 25 new farms and 11 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) focused on processing and packaging.
Source: Post-Courier