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.
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.
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.
