Six passionate Papua New Guineans will embark on a journey to Australia to undergo training to help boost PNG’s access to the lucrative international organic produce market.
Thanks to an innovative partnership between the Australian Government and PNG-based accreditation provider Paradais Review Services, the six are travelling to Adelaide in South Australia.
There they will undertake two weeks of intensive training as National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA) Organic Inspectors and Food Safety Management System Auditors.
Much of the food produced in PNG is organic, but farmers and other producers struggle to get access to the lucrative international organic produce market.
This is largely due to a lack of local PNG organic certifiers with internationally recognised qualifications. Currently, certifiers need to be flown in from other countries like Australia.
This makes the accreditation process difficult and expensive for PNG agribusinesses.
Australian High Commission Economics Counsellor Nic Jonsson said this initiative showed the concrete actions being taking by the PNG-Australia Partnership to boost livelihoods in PNG’s agriculture sector.
“Once this training is complete, PNG farmers will have on-the-ground access to internationally qualified organic food inspectors. This means it will make it easier for PNG produce to compete in valuable overseas organic markets like Australia,” Mr Jonsson said.
“This is the first time PNG will have access to locally-trained inspectors, benefiting the future of PNG's agriculture sector.”
The inspectors will complete their 14-day training on August 23 and return to PNG soon after. They will undertake further online instruction and on-the-ground training over the next 12 months and be fully qualified and ready to support PNG producers from around August 2025.
The inspectors and Australian High Commission representatives at a pre-departure briefing. The cohort will undertake two weeks of intensive training as National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA) Organic Inspectors and Food Safety Management System Auditors.
For further information, including access to related materials, please contact the Australian High Commission media team: +675 7090 0100