Protecting sweet potato crops in Papua New Guinea

Charles Sturt University’s Professor Geoff Gurr led a five-year project for the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to investigate ways to improve sweet potato crop production and protection in Papua New Guinea.

Sweet potato is Papua New Guinea’s major staple food crop, with 90 per cent of the population involved in semi-subsistence farming and dependent on the crops for income. However, sweet potato crops are vulnerable to pests, such as weevils, and viral diseases. The development of new protection methods will support commercial production and food security for local farmers, as well as boost soil management and crop nutrition.

Researchers from Charles Sturt worked alongside partners from the University of Southern Queensland, the National Agricultural Research Institute, Fresh Produce Development Agency and Papua New Guinea University of Technology.

Along with research to protect sweet potato crops from pests and diseases, the project also focused on building the capacity of individuals and organisations in Papua New Guinea to conduct integrated pest and disease management research. Building capacity was achieved through a series of demonstrations, evaluation and 12 training days held with groups of farmers.

The project results yielded strong evidence across multiple provinces of Papua New Guinea that sweet potato crop outputs are increased by the new integrated pest and disease management strategies tested and implemented.