World Food Day: Grow PNG Joins Grow Asia in Celebrating a Decade of Impact

On World Food Day, September 2025, in Singapore, Grow PNG, as Grow Asia’s Country Chapter in Papua New Guinea, participated in the Southeast Asia Partnership (SEAP) Conference and the Grow Asia Annual General Meeting (AGM). The event marked a celebration of Grow Asia’s 10-year journey of promoting inclusive, sustainable, and market-driven agricultural growth across Southeast Asia.

During the conference, Grow PNG engaged with regional partners, sharing insights on agricultural transformation, investment opportunities, and farmer empowerment initiatives in Papua New Guinea. Representing Grow PNG, Head of Programs Ruthy David Kusak shared milestones since 2019:

• Engaging more than 45,000 farmers (39% women) and serving as a neutral facilitator

• Bridging landowners, government, and the private sector, strengthening dialogue and building trust

• Enabling partnerships that deliver tangible benefits to smallholder farmers and landowner groups in the Markham and Ramu Corridor.

  
  

Priorities

Priorities remain focused on expanding land access for agri-partnerships and promoting farming as a business, while advancing food security, rural livelihoods, and climate resilience.

Challenges familiar to PNG farmers persist, including underutilized fertile land, complex tenure systems, limited access to finance, low digital adoption, and increasing climate and market risks.

Grow PNG’s Four Ps Framework

The Four Ps framework has guided efforts across key areas:

People

• Delivering Waba’Ani training on investment literacy, agripreneurship, gender inclusion, and climate-smart agriculture. This program is under development and will soon be scaled up to strengthen investor onboarding and accelerate transformation.

Partnerships

• Advancing the taro value chain (to be fully launched after value chain surveys), hosting the Unlocking Land pitch with Morobe Government, piloting ILG re-certification for 24 ILGs (7,700 ha), and aligning climate finance pathways with GGGI and the National Climate Change Board.

Private and Public Sector Collaboration

• Progressing corn and oil palm initiatives.

  
  

Looking Ahead

Plans include extending land access training, launching the WAPP, and further strengthening investor engagement to support agricultural transformation for farmers and landowners.

Grow Asia Investment Forum 2025

The Grow Asia Investment Forum 2025, held on 17 September, brought together over 200 senior leaders from governments, businesses, philanthropies, and international organizations to celebrate Grow Asia’s 10th anniversary.

Grow PNG's participation in the Grow Asia Investment Forum 2025 further strengthened connections between local farmers, agribusinesses, and regional investors, highlighting pathways to market access and sustainable growth.

Grow Asia celebrate its 10-year anniversary

About Grow Asia

Since its establishment, Grow Asia has built a network of over 780 partners across five Country Chapters, directly reaching 3.7 million smallholder farmers with climate-smart practices, digital innovations, inclusive finance, and women’s empowerment initiatives. Grow PNG’s affiliation with Grow Asia ensures PNG farmers and landowners are connected to these broader regional networks of investment, knowledge, and collaboration.

Commitment as a Country Chapter

As a Country Chapter, Grow PNG remains committed to advancing this shared mission by strengthening partnerships that empower farmers and foster resilient agricultural systems across Papua New Guinea.