Bridging Agriculture and Innovation: Grow PNG Facilitates Department of Agriculture (DAL) Secretary’s Visit to Markham Valley Farmers

On February 22, 2025, Grow PNG facilitated a series of farm visits for Dr. Sergie Bang, Secretary of Papua New Guinea’s Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL). The visit aimed to assess agricultural initiatives, engage with smallholder farmers and stakeholders, and explore strategies to enhance productivity in the Markham Valley. Accompanied by Grow PNG Country Director David Stewart, Dr. Bang visited smallholder farmers in Maniape Village, near the K92 mine site. The visit, coordinated by the K92 Mine team, allowed Dr. Bang to interact directly with farmers, gaining insights into their experiences and the opportunities created through collaboration with Grow PNG and K92 Mine External Affairs and Sustainable Development team.

DAL Secretary Dr. Bang and Grow PNG Country Director inspecting the corn harvester at Rumion Farm.

Dr. Bang emphasized the importance of Agri-Small Medium Enterprise (SME) loans to boost productivity and ensure long-term sustainability. As part of his visit to the farmers at Maniape village, he toured the farm of Markham Smart Farmers Association President John Gaif and later visited Rumion Ltd.’s corn farm following its first Harvest Festival. At Rumion, he and David inspected harvesting equipment and assessed mechanization efforts to improve efficiency.

DAL secretary visiting farm areas in Maniape Village, coordinated by the K92 Mine External Affairs & Sustainable Development team.

Visiting farm site at Atupan village with Markham Smart Farmers Association President John Gaif.

Key challenges identified during the engagement include smallholder farmers limited access to financial management training, improved irrigation systems, access micro-financing loans, and farm mechanization. Dr. Bang acknowledged these gaps and expressed his commitment to supporting smallholder farmers in not only small-scale production but also transition to semicommercial farming.

As an outcome of this visit, the collaboration between Grow PNG and DAL will focus on strengthening partnerships with large-scale farms, supporting smallholder farms (5 to 20 hectares) through mechanization and irrigation, and exploring the establishment of a commercial training institution. Discussions also centered on creating a credit facility to improve farmers' access to financial resources for agricultural investments.

Grow PNG will continue to foster sustainable agricultural development by bridging partnerships between government agencies, private sector stakeholders, and smallholder farmers in the Markham and Ramu Corridor.