IB2015/40 Will Papua New Guinea Be Able to Feed Itself in 2050?

Two independent surveys within the last 20 years found that most of the food consumed in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is produced within PNG. The 1996 PNG Household Survey (Gibson 2001), a consumption survey, found that 84 per cent of calories consumed in rural areas and 50 per cent of calories consumed in urban areas, were produced in PNG. Bourke (2009a) used the Mapping Agriculture Systems in PNG (MASP) data to estimate that 83 per cent of food energy and 76 per cent of protein consumed in PNG was produced in PNG. The very great majority of this food is produced by rural people from their customary land, using their own labour, with almost no external inputs.