Strengthening agricultural resilience in Western Province: Mapping place-based strengths and assets

Photo: Public Diplomacy, Australian High Commission PNG

As the largest Province in PNG, Western Province encompasses great regional diversity. It shares borders with two other nation-states (Australia and Indonesia) and remains one of the poorest provinces in the nation. It has experienced the devastating impact of large-scale mining, with the legacy of the Ok Tedi mine still affecting livelihoods and entire landscapes both near and far from the site of mineral extraction. In the southern borderlands, the relative deprivation of the Province is accentuated, especially in comparison to the lives of kin living in the Torres Strait Islands. The PNG and Australian governments are committed to improving livelihoods and developing the resilience of Western Province. This scoping study:

• Identifies the lessons learnt from decades of development work in Western Province, Papua New Guinea.
• Takes a place-based approach by recognising the diverse geographic, ecological and socio-cultural contexts across Western Province.
• Employs a strengths-based approach that builds a wider understanding of local people’s current economic activities and their diverse livelihood assets across broad geographic and cultural contexts.

A companion project conducted by researchers at the Centre for Sustainable Communities at the University of Canberra will focus on developing methods for strengths-based livelihood approaches. It aims to identify locally appropriate livelihood development practices for the agricultural development sector working across the diverse regions of Western Province. It will foster a ‘community of practice’ amongst development practitioners working in the Western Province and aim to give the sector more confidence in their practice, new ideas to trial, and appropriate support for ACIAR’s planned ongoing work in the region.

The aims of the integrated WSU and UC projects will be achieved by collating and interpreting available data and seeking insights from PNG experts and those with local knowledge. Both projects will inform future agricultural development work in Western Province planned by ACIAR.

Researcher(s): Professor Katherine Gibson, Dr Pryor Placino

Funding: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)

Period: 2021 – 2023

Project website (opens in a new window)

Contact Persons: Professor Katherine Gibson (Project Leader), Dr Pryor Placino (Postdoctoral Research Fellow)