National Agriculture Sector Plan (NASP) 2024-2033.

The National Agriculture Sector Plan (NASP) aims to transform the sector from subsistence agriculture to commercial enterprising for economic growth and prosperity of the country and its people whereby the sector is expected to contribute K30 billion by 2030. The timeframe of the policy is 10 years covering the period between 2024 and 2033. The objectives of the NASP are to: (I) improve food security, nutrition and health of the population; (II) increase income earning opportunities for population dependent on agriculture; (III) reduce imports of food, rice and grains, meat and poultry and increase exports; (IV) improve agriculture sector performance through effective coordination between all agencies at all levels; (V) create employment opportunities for all, including youth and women in Papua New Guinea; and (VI) improve the quality of population in rural villages and transform into economically vibrant communities.
This Policy lays down strategies to transform crop, livestock, food and horticulture, rice, grain, and spice production sub-sectors into commercially oriented enterprises that ensure sustainable food and nutrition security, and to provide a framework for effective coordination and consultation between the National and sub-national governments, and among other stakeholders for increased crops, livestock and food production and improved agriculture sector performance. It highlights the importance of agriculture in the economy and the potential it offers to create a sustainable income and employment opportunities for the majority of the people living in rural areas.
The Agriculture Priority Areas (APAs) of this Policy are as follows: APA 1 enhanced productivity, increased scale of production and market competitiveness; APA 2 infrastructure and access to markets; APA 3 agricultural commodity investment and exports; APA 4 land mobilization, use and management; APA 5 policy and legal environment for enabling strategic private sector participation and investments; APA 6 comprehensive research and development; APA 7 agriculture education, training and extension services; APA 8 biosecurity; APA 9 food and nutrition security and safety standards; APA 10 climate-smart agriculture; APA 11 institutional reform and sector development; APA 12 information management and use - information communication technology; and APA 13 management of the NSAP.
The NASP will support development of large-scale commercial crop and livestock production of an agriculture and livestock commodity of strength and comparative advantage in each province to build volume as well as supporting value chain development for selected commodities toward commercialization. The approach will be shifted from commodity-focus to people-focus for improved livelihoods and broad-based economic opportunities and prosperity. Measures will be taken to unleash the untapped potential for increasing yields in export crops, food crops and livestock, and minimizing post-harvest losses. Planted areas will ve expanded in line with moderate to high suitability for crops contribute to increase scale of production for food and export commodities. Farmers will be promoted and encouraged to move from a subsistence farming practices to commercial farming and invest their surplus earnings from agriculture on off-farm business enterprises with wealth creation as the aim. The accessibility of farmers and other participants in the various value chains of agriculture crops and/or commodities to services and markets will be improved through commodity roads and transport infrastructure. The access to affordable farm financial products and services will be improved for commercialization for sustainable growth. The sector will be organized and transformed to be prepared for addressing rapid population growth, which will accelerate the need for land mobilization for agriculture production for more domestic food consumption. Climate-smart agriculture practices will be integrated into the planning and development of sustainable agricultural systems to mitigate the impacts of climate change.