Papua New Guinea Agritourism Policy Setting Workshop 2019

Policy setting for Improved Linkages Between Agriculture, Trade and Tourism:
Strengthening the Local Agrifood Sector and Promoting Healthy Food in Agritourism

 Workshop organised by the Government of Papua New Guinea
in collaboration with and Pacific Community, CTA, PIPSO, IFAD and SPTO

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 27-28th May 2019.

 

Background

Promoting linkages between agriculture and tourism-related markets for improved food and nutrition security

Tourism is the lifeblood of many Pacific economies and agritourism provides a promising avenue for diversification and trade growth. High quality, nutritious and healthy food, available every day of the year, is critical to hotels, lodges and resorts. Often the food purchasing bill of a tourism site is large in comparison to the size of the local economy, yet surprisingly little of this is spent locally, even when supplies are available from farmers, fishermen and small-scale agribusinesses. The challenges of shifting food-sourcing to local suppliers are considerable – achieving this in a way that meets commercial needs and customer preferences and meets food and safety requirements would be one way in which tourism operations can significantly increase their contribution to local economic development.

Linkages between agriculture and tourism not only can potentially increase opportunities for domestic agriculture earnings and sector growth, but also offer opportunities to help develop visitor attractions and distinctive tourist destination brands by creative use and marketing of local produce and scenery. In order to acquire these benefits, the tourism industry needs to be proactive in utilizing local produce and agriculture sites as a tourist attraction. Therefore, technical capacity and skills need to be built in order to accomplish this.

Since 2016, a total of four consultative national agritourism policy setting workshops were organised in Vanuatu and Samoa, Solomon Islands in 2017 and Fiji in early 2018 which led to concrete policy measures and funding proposals developed for each country. In view of the positive experiences in Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Fiji and the potential opportunities in agriculture and tourism in PNG, the Government of PNG in collaboration with the development partners is supporting an Agritourism policy-setting for Papua New Guinea, which will develop further linkages between agriculture, trade and tourism sectors to support local businesses in serving tourism-related markets.

Agriculture has the potential in other sectors such as tourism and agro-industries and as a major economic activity in the rural areas, agriculture plays an important role in the process of rural development. The linkage between agriculture and tourism has not been fully explored in many Pacific islands and only recently this linkage is now been given priority because of the huge potential that exits for the agriculture sector to supply the hotel industry. Thus adding the opportunity to promote fresh local products and promoting the local cuisines to international visitors.

Goal: To promote sustainable use of local food by the tourism industry through a new coordinated Papua New Guinea Agritourism Plan or Strategy to strengthened intersectoral policies.

Objectives:

  • To promote linkages between the agrifood sector and the tourism industry to increase sustainable local sourcing through a new developed agritourism plan or policy for Papua New Guinea
  • To identify key institutional and supply chain gaps and issues that should be advocated through this new Plan and stakeholders that would drive the changes
  • To formulated an initial work plan and a working group that will take forward concrete actions drawn from the consultations.
  • To identify concrete projects that can be supported under the intra ACP EU funding.
  • To contribute to the Pacific regional agritourism strategy.

Updates

New PNG PM says to prioritize agriculture, tourism (Xinhua; 2019-06-12 )
Food seen as new tourism fuel (The National; April 2019)


Background Note & Programme

Resources

  • Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Office Agritourism Workshop Information [link]
  • Papua New Guinea National Agriculture Development Plan, 2007-2016 Policies and Strategies V1 [pdf]
  • Papua New Guinea National Agriculture Development Plan, 2007-2016 Policies and Strategies V1, part 2 [pdf]
  • PNG National Agriculture Development Plan 2007-2016 Implementation Plan V2 [pdf]
  • PNG NADP 2007-2016 Implementation Plan V2 map 1-9 [pdf]
  • PNG NADP 2007-2016 Implementation Plan V2 part 2 map 10-18 [pdf]

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PROGRAMME

DAY 1: Monday 27th May 2019

8:00-8:30 Registration of Participants / Badge Collection

9:00-9:15 Opening Address
Alcinda Trawen, Director Policy and Planning, Papua New Guinea Tourism
Promotion Authority

9:15 – 10:30 SESSION ONE Setting the scene: What do we know about the opportunities to support linkages between Agriculture and Tourism?
MODERATOR Ms Alcinda Trawen, Director Policy and Planning, Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority

– Setting the Scene: Overview of tourism development and opportunities for greater connection with the agriculture industry
Ms Alcinda Trawen, PNG Tourism Promotion Authority [presentation]

– Tourism Trends in the Pacific and PNG – Challenges and Opportunity
Ms Christine Gale, South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) [presentation]

– Global Trends and Evolution of Agritourism and Food Tourism
Ms Mereia Volavola, ACP-EU Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA) [presentation]

COFFEE BREAK

PNG Context: Opportunities for Agriculture Development Agritourism Development in the Pacific
Ms Sema Bainivalu, CTA Program Coordinator, Pacific Islands Private Sector Organization (PIPSO) [presentation]

– Market Linkages of Agricultural Product Supply to the PNG Tourist Market
Sidney Suma, PHAMA, Country Manager [presentation]

– Opportunities for ICT in Agritourism
Mr Christopher Vagilia, Agri-Organic PNG [presentation]

LUNCH BREAK

14:00-15:45pm SESSION TWO Identifying Priority Areas for Development in Agribusiness and Agritourism
MODERATOR FAO

– Agribusiness: A key area for support
Ms Maria Linibi, President, PNG Women in Agricultural Development Foundation [presentation]

– Building quality seafood supplies for the tourism industry
Thomas Molean, Vice-President – PNG Chef’s Association [presentation]

– Facilitating Business Development for Agritourism in PNG
Daroa Peter, Investment Promotion Authority

– Supporting farmers and farmer organizations – Capacity building
John Kewa, Executive Manager – Research, Policy, Planning and Communication, Fresh Produce Development Agency (FPDA) [presentation]

– Product Development, Market Access and Food Safety Standards/Certification
Apiame Cegumalua, HCCP Australia Expert [presentation]

COFFEE BREAK

16:00-17:00pm BREAK OUT SESSION: POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
MODERATOR TPA Officer, PNG Tourism Promotion Authority

WRAP UP AND CONCLUSION

DAY 2: Tuesday 28th May, 2019

09:00-10:30 SESSION THREE The Link Between Agriculture and Cuisine
MODERATOR Stacey O’Nea, Chief Executive Officer, Port Moresby Business Council

– Best practices for Local Food sourcing: Getting the Supply Chain right
Betty Higgins, Mt Wilhelm Tourist Lodge [presentation]

– Challenges and Opportunities for Framers and Framer Organizations in Supplying the Accommodation Sector
Carmella Gabina, General Manager, Wellness Lodge 

– The Future of Culinary Tourism in the Pacific: Capacity Building and Skills Development
Chris Lokei, Head Trainer – Cookery, Australia Pacific Training Coalition [presentation]

– Building Culinary Tourism in PNG: Innovation with Traditional Food
Julian Henao, Chef, The Heathy Food Co. [presentation]

COFFEE BREAK
10:40-11:15 SESSION FOUR Food Festivals: Celebrating Food and Tourism for All
MODERATOR Alcinda Trawen, Director Policy and Planning, PNG TPA

– Chocolate Festival, Autonomous Region of Bougainville
Steven Tsivele, Chairman, Bougainville Chocolate Festival [presentation]

– Bundi Komba Festival
Vincent Kumura, Founder, Kumura Foundation [presentation]

– Goroka Festival
Keryn Hargreaves, Chairperson, Goroka Festival

11:15-12:30 SESSION FIVE Policy Recommendations
Presentation of key elements of the strategy/policy on agritourism and proposed
actions. [presentation]

12:30 Closing Remarks
Ms Alcinda Trawen, Director Policy and Planning, PNG Tourism Promotion Authority

LUNCH BREAK

TECHNICAL TOUR
1:30 – 5:00pm PORT MORESBY CITY MISSION FARM