CABI News

CABI strengthened its partnership with Papua New Guinea (PNG) through a visit from Her Excellency Ms Betty Palaso, High Commissioner to the UK, and Mrs Emma Pongopia Tapol, First Secretary.

Dr Daniel Elger, CABI CEO, outlined how CABI’s Medium-Term Strategy aligns with PNG’s policies and priorities for agricultural and rural development, trade, market access and economic growth, which were highlighted by H.E. Ms Palaso.

This included work to help PNG, a founding Member Country of CABI, manage a range of crop pests and diseases that can affect the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and national food security.

The PNG and CABI teams discussed ways to enhance their partnership, by working together bilaterally as well as on regional initiatives and through south-south collaborations.

CABI’s work to help PNG mitigate the impacts of coffee berry borer

Dr Qiaoqiao Zhang, Director of Memberships highlighted the long-standing partnership between Papua New Guinea and CABI, involving mutually beneficial collaboration on development projects, capacity building, knowledge management and information access over past decades.

Agriculture is vital to PNG. It provides 22% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, accounts for 26% of its exports and supports around 85% of the rural population who rely directly on subsistence farming for their basic needs.

Coffee and cocoa are the main cash crops and employ half of the workforce. However, the cost and availability of modern inputs and technologies, lack of irrigation, poor access to support services and the threat of pests and diseases all contribute to low yields.

The World Bank has, for instance, estimated that coffee yields are reduced by up to 50%, with pests such as the coffee berry borer being a factor. Other pests and diseases include the sweet potato weevil (Cylas formicarius), the diamond-back moth (Plutella xylostella) on cabbage and the rhinoceros beetle (Scapanes australis) on coconut.

Dr Arnaud Costa, Crop Health Adviser at CABI’s Centre in Malaysia, and Dr Bryony Taylor, Strategic Planning Manager, International Development, described CABI’s work with PNG and Indonesia to mitigate the impacts of coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei).

Work in PNG has identified pathways of entry and spread for the pest, supported surveillance strategies and incorporated awareness around coffee berry borer into extension work.

PNG strengthens its food security through PlantwisePlus programme

CABI has supported the government of PNG to strengthen food security through the PlantwisePlus programme. The programme helps farmers lose less of what they grow to pests and diseases through the introduction of plant clinics. Plant clinics are places where farmers can take samples of their ‘sick’ crops to trained plant doctors for a diagnosis and to receive advice on sustainable treatments.

PlantwisePlus is helping to strengthen country’s plant health system, ensuring it is prepared for early detection of, and rapid response to, pest outbreaks and invasion events.

It is also helping to improve PNG’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and to underpin the country’s biosecurity plan. This includes detecting, preventing and monitoring invasive species entering PNG through trade or tourism.

In addition to the discussions on project work, Dr Andy Robinson, Managing Director, Publishing and Knowledge Business, gave an overview of CABI’s publishing products and knowledge resources available on the CABI Digital Library.

Additional information

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‘Working with Papua New Guinea to safeguard crop production.’