Cultivating Success: Grow PNG Joins Rumion Farm’s First CornField Harvest

On February 21, 2025, Grow PNG joined its agribusiness partner, Rumion Farm, in celebrating a significant milestone—the Umi Corn Field Day. This event marked the first large-scale corn harvest for Rumion Farm in Umi, located in the Markham District of Morobe Province. With 550 hectares of corn harvested, the project is expected to generate approximately K5 million, providing a substantial boost to the region’s agricultural economy.

For Grow PNG, this event reinforced the importance of fostering strong partnerships between agribusinesses, landowners, and smallholder farmers. Events like the Umi Corn Field Day serve as crucial platforms for knowledge sharing, market linkages, and investment opportunities—key components of Grow PNG’s mission to strengthen agricultural value chains in Papua New Guinea.

David Duran, Rumion Farm General Manager, showing stakeholders the harvester that harvests the corn

“Rumion Farm has initiated an irrigation trial on a 500-hectare plot… Without an irrigation system, the farm currently relies heavily on rainfall throughout the year.”David Duran, Rumion Farm General Manager.

Rumion Farm’s General Manager, David Domingo, reflected on the farm’s long journey to this achievement. “For over 30 years, we have focused on producing grain for our own feed manufacturing needs, supplying businesses such as Pelgens, Farmset, and EBC,” he said. “However, expanding large-scale corn production has always been challenging due to global competition, as farmers in the U.S. and South America receive government subsidies.” To address these challenges and enhance sustainability, Rumion Farm has initiated an irrigation trial on a 50-hectare plot. “If this proves successful, we will expand irrigation across our corn fields, ensuring consistent and scalable production,” Domingo added “Without an irrigation system, the farm currently relies heavily on rainfall throughout the year.”

“This is a great example of what Grow PNG has been striving to achieve over the last five years—a solid commercial engagement between a producing investor and a landowning clan. The relationship between Rumion Farm and the landowners has developed over a long period, creating a strong foundation of trust in how they work together, interact, and negotiate.” David Stewart, Grow PNG Country Director.

Grow PNG Country Director, David Stewart, emphasized the significance of the partnership between Rumion Farm and local landowners. “This is a great example of what Grow PNG has been striving to achieve over the last five years—a solid commercial engagement between a producing investor and a landowning clan. The relationship between Rumion Farm and the landowners has developed over a long period, creating a strong foundation of trust in how they work together, interact, and negotiate,” he stated. Grow PNG will continue its efforts in supporting agribusinesses like Rumion Farm in scaling their operations, improving market access, and fostering inclusive growth in the agriculture sector. The success of the Umi Corn Field Day highlights the potential of collaborative investment and innovation in driving economic prosperity for farmers and landowners in the Markham Valley.