No Farmer Left Behind – Empowering Markham Smallholder Farmers by Advancing Traceability & Compliance through Partnerships

Group photo taken after the 4th Regional Technical Dialogue on the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) held in Jakarta on 25 September 2025. Grow PNG represented Papua New Guinea at the dialogue through Julie Sip, Implementation and Engagement Lead, joining over 150 regional stakeholders under the SAFE initiative to advance practical, inclusive traceability solutions for smallholder farmers and SMEs across the region.

Grow PNG represented Papua New Guinea at the 4th Regional Technical Dialogue on the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) held in Jakarta on 25 September 2025, attended by Julie Sip, Grow PNG’s Implementation and Engagement Lead.

This dialogue, part of the Sustainable Agriculture for Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) initiative, was co-financed by the European Union, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Held concurrently in Indonesia and Malaysia (with participants from Papua New Guinea and several Southeast Asian countries), the dialogue brought together more than 150 regional stakeholders to explore practical traceability solutions for smallholder farmers and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—promoting compliance, market competitiveness, and cross-country learning.

Key objectives of the dialogue:

• Showcase diverse traceability models and tools implemented regionally, focusing on practical applications.

• Identify strategies to scale accessible traceability solutions for smallholders and SMEs while exploring interoperability with the EUDR.

• Promote cross-country collaboration and develop recommendations to enhance traceability, compliance, and market competitiveness.

  
  

Representing Papua New Guinea, Grow PNG shared the national perspective on smallholder inclusivity in traceability. During the dialogue, Ms. Sip highlighted the practical challenges faced by smallholder farmers in the Markham Valley and across PNG in meeting market traceability and EUDR compliance requirements. She also presented practical approaches and user-friendly tools that could be relevant for smallholders in the Markham and Ramu Corridors.

Significant barriers identified:

The most significant barrier was the high transaction cost of compliance relative to farm size, as smallholders often cultivate less than a hectare of land while being required to meet traceability and deforestation-free standards that demand:

• Accurate geolocation and user-friendly mapping tools

• Consistent record keeping

• Proof of land legality

• Non-fragmented supply chains

• Administrative capacity

  
  

Practical strategies to support smallholders:

• Embedding smallholders into aggregation-based traceability hubs

• Providing simplified, scalable tools

• Offering incentives tied to compliance

• Aligning policies and partnerships through endorsed data standards, financial products, and traceability protocols

• Establishing a Farm → Fermentary → Exporter digital chain — a hybrid paper-and-mobile system to track wet-bean receipts and link farmers to buyers even in low-connectivity areas

• Using geotagged supply mapping and GIS dashboards to confirm farm origins, support Incorporated Land Group (ILG) re-certification, and strengthen buyer confidence through capacity building

• Developing cooperative or aggregation hub traceability systems to enable batch-level quality tracking and premium pricing for farmers

• Testing simple mobile applications and blockchain pilots to support farmer KPIs, payments, and access to premium markets

  
  

Grow PNG’s way forward:

Grow PNG will continue building on these lessons by promoting regional collaboration and innovation through partnerships with the Markham District Development Authority and other interested stakeholders.

Focus areas include:

• Influential Policy: Partner with the Markham District to raise awareness and advocate for fermentary registration, ILG mapping, and minimal trace data standards, institutionalizing traceability within provincial policy.

• Unlocking Land: Collaborate on geotagging and ILG title data collection to form the backbone of trace records and proof of non-deforestation for EUDR compliance.

• Agri-Partnerships / Value Chain: Identify and work with partners to strengthen aggregation hubs, SMS/app tools, and financial linkages that operationalize traceability while improving quality and enabling premium pricing.

  
  

By applying these practical strategies locally, Grow PNG aims to increase market access, strengthen farmer livelihoods, and institutionalize traceability for sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient agribusiness — ensuring that farmers in the Markham and Ramu Corridors are well-positioned to thrive and remain competitive in compliance with the EUDR.

This initiative reflects Grow PNG’s role as a convener, bringing together diverse stakeholders to drive innovative solutions and local-level implementation — ensuring that no farmer is left behind.