The World Bank has committed US$250 million to support Papua New Guinea’s National Agriculture Sector Plan, a major programme aimed at strengthening food production, rural livelihoods and agricultural value chains across the country.
The financing is expected to help Papua New Guinea expand commercial agriculture while improving productivity among smallholder farmers who form the backbone of the sector. Agriculture remains one of the country’s largest employers, with crops such as coffee, cocoa, copra, oil palm and fresh produce supporting hundreds of thousands of rural households.
The World Bank support will focus on improving agricultural infrastructure, strengthening supply chains and expanding market access for farmers. The programme will also support efforts to modernise farming practices and improve resilience to climate shocks, which have increasingly affected rural communities across Papua New Guinea.
Agriculture contributes roughly a quarter of Papua New Guinea’s gross domestic product and remains central to the government’s long-term strategy for inclusive growth. While the country is rich in minerals, oil and gas, policymakers have repeatedly emphasised that broader economic diversification will depend on strengthening productive sectors such as agriculture, fisheries and forestry.
The National Agriculture Sector Plan seeks to address long-standing challenges including limited access to finance, poor rural transport networks and weak post-harvest systems. Many farmers in Papua New Guinea continue to face difficulties in bringing produce to markets because of transport bottlenecks and limited storage facilities.
World Bank support is expected to be delivered through a combination of investment financing, technical assistance and institutional strengthening. The initiative will also aim to improve agricultural extension services and strengthen partnerships with the private sector to expand agribusiness investment.
Development partners have increasingly focused on agriculture as a pathway for inclusive growth in Papua New Guinea. With most of the population living in rural areas, improvements in agricultural productivity and market access are seen as critical to raising incomes and reducing poverty.
The World Bank initiative comes at a time when the government is seeking to broaden the economic base beyond extractive industries and build stronger value chains in key agricultural commodities.
