Crop Production must be improved to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population

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Sweet potato is the single most important food in PNG, whether measured by production or the number of people depending on it as their staple food.

It contributes more calories to rural Papua New Guinean's diets than all other root crops including banana and sago combined. It is also an important cash crop.

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Bananas are another popular food throughout PNG and is the staple in a number of locations.

it was an important backup food during the 1997 drought when root crops failed completely.

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Sago is the staple food for people living in lowland and swampy areas in the country particularly in the five lowland provinces with permanent flooding. it is also an important emergency or minor food in many lowland locations.

it also has considerable potential for industrial starch production and as domestic marketed food.

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Taro is grown widely in PNG. however, its significance as a subsistence food has declined greatly over the past 60 years. many former Taro growers have switched to sweet potato (kau kau) or other food crops.

Still its cash value is gathering in importance as the food is now sold in significant quantities in fresh food markets at a higher price than other food crops.

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Yams are widely grown in both the highlands and lowlands, but are a significant food source only in restricted locations in the lowlands.

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Other crops

There are some 400 food crops grown or gathered in PNG, many of which are very minor or obscure.

Many food crops have unrealised potential as subsistence foods, as food for the domestic market or as export crops.

The groups with the greatest potential are indigenous vegetables, introuduced vegetables, fruits and nuts.

There are many individual crop species that hagve unrealised potential for further expansion. The fruit include potato, avocado, mandarin, orange, rambutan, mango, mangoteen and durian.

There are several indigenous nut-producing species that deserve attention including nut pandanus (karuka), terminalia (Okari and sea almond), canarium (galip) and inocarpus fagifer (Polynesian chestnut).

Among numerous vegetable species, there are several that are important or potentially so, including potato, bulb onion, aibika, amaranthus and various brassicas.

Source: Investment Promotion Authority
Email: iepd@ipa.gov.pg
Website: www.ipa.gov.pg