Sustainable Palm Oil And Poverty Alleviation: Post # 2

In my last blog post, I briefly described a major issue building up under LSS palms of West New Britain, especially at PNG's oldest oil palm project, Hoskins.

Population and demographic changes over the last four decades contributed to intense social and economic pressures experienced today. Added with uncertain and fluctuating oil palm incomes, LSS smallholders' living standard has decreased considerably. Also associated with socio-economic problems, are high incidences of social breakdown and issues over environmental impacts.

In response, most farming families have adopted new oil palm "labour and production strategies" to maintain household economic security and social stability. This post will elaborate further on this.

Coping With Overcrowding Under The Palms

The changing patterns of household production and livelihood strategies in oil palm Land Settlement Schemes (LSS) of Papua New Guinea is an interesting study at Hoskins (PNG’s oldest and premier oil palm project). This trend is spreading rapidly.

Sustainable Palm Oil And Poverty Alleviation: Post # 1

Despite a significant growth in palm oil production over the past few years, one of the most important challenges facing PNG’s premier oil palm project in West New Britain today is how to improve the living standard of oil palm producing families in light of growing negative impacts of population boom, high incidences of social breakdown and issues over environmental impacts.

Because of these negative impacts, unsustainable methods of production, still lurk behind current certified standards and practices. Lack of information coupled with farmers' poor levels of literacy seem to be the main setback and therefore must be improved.

For my first blog post, I introduce a major problem I find rising under the palms of West New Britain - population and demographic change.

Early Developments

Commercial oil palm development in Papua New Guinea dates back to 1967 when the Australian Colonial Administration introduced what was described as a major vehicle to boost Papua New Guinea’s economy. It was called the Land Settlement Scheme (LSS) program and featured a process of liberating overcrowded regions via voluntary resettlement of rural people to under-exploited areas. Large parcels of under-developed land on the northern coast of New Britain Island were alienated and subdivided into smallholdings to lease to the settlers for agricultural development.