PNG Develops Cassava As a Big Export Earner

Cassava is said to be one of the main staple diets for coastal Papua New Guineans. The main staple food is taro followed by yams, kaukau and Chinese taro.

This means most of these cassava growing areas could become financially self sufficient in commercial production of cassava following the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding with a prominent South Korean company to develop cassava into a big export earner for the country.

Finance and Treasury Minister Bart Philemon signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bohae Group, a Korean conglomerate, in Lae, Morobe province.

Two MOUs were signed. The first was a general MOU between the independent state of Papua New Guinea and the investor (Bohae Group) followed by a MOU between the National Government, the Morobe Provincial Government, landowners and the investor, where specific social/community obligations for each party to undertake were outlined.

A detailed memorandum of agreement (MOA), which will contain specific support each stakeholder will receive and give to the development of the cassava industry, including the government's investment incentives for the investor, will be finalised and signed later.

The cassava project is being spearheaded by the Nucleus Agro Enterprise Project, funded jointly by the Papua New Guinea Government and the Asian Development Bank.

In line with the government's target of delivering some tangible agro-industry projects by the end of the year, this investment is expected to bring significant benefits and credibility to the country. Yalu and Wawin in Morobe have been selected as the first sites for the cultivation of cassava farms and an ethanol plant.

The cassava project will bring in an estimated FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) of US$26 million, potential exports in the range of US$15 million and employment of about 5000 people.

It would also fully support on-going government initiatives like the export-led economic recovery plan and the nuclear family settlement scheme. Bohae guarantees a ready market for all the cassava that the farmers can produce for export from Papua New Guinea.

In addition, to ensure a permanent and stable supply of cassava, Bohae intends to make a capital investment of US$S6 million to develop and produce the crop in identified farmland sites.

A further investment of US$20 million is planned for an ethanol production plant once the cassava farms are operational.

The Bohae Group is one of the leading consumers of ethanol in South Korea. With a projected internal requirement of about 70,000 tons of cassava and the capability to find markets for an additional 70,000 tons, Bohae is the gateway to international markets that Papua New Guinea needs to encourage farmers to boost cassava cultivation.

Government support, including identifying and making available suitable agricultural and industrial land for cassava cultivation and ethanol production, is the cornerstone of the project's success.

Cassava is a crop that is grown widely in the world. Recently, interest in cassava has increased greatly due to several reasons. One of them being that ethanol can be produced from cassava. Ethanol is increasingly being seen as a non-polluting fuel mix alternative to petrol.

The potential growth in ethanol and hence in cassava cultivation is tremendous. The Papua New Guinea Government is well aware of the potential of cassava as food as well as a cash crop and has been making efforts in the past to improve interest among farmers.

But crop adoption rate by farmers has been poor partly due to the low social status associated with the consumption of the crop. It also due to the limited development and access opportunities to international cassava markets.