Partnership focuses on carrying out agriculture training for communities

PAPUA New Guinea’s landowner catering company, PNG Mining and Petroleum Hospitality Services (PNGMPHS) has partnered with Santos and the Fresh Produce Development Agency (FPDA) to continue to improve livelihoods by supporting sustainable agriculture business opportunities.
The company will help train communities in the Moran and Kutubu areas of Southern Highlands to learn different vegetable and fruit farming skills and methods, including quality control, harvesting, packaging and marketing skills.
Santos executive vice-president and co-head (PNG operations) Leon Buskens said the innovative project built on existing agriculture programmes aimed at mitigating the lack of a fresh vegetable and fruit value chain within communities in the Santos project impact areas.
“The communities have shown great interest in the initiative based on the number of farmer registrations,” he said.
“We are now looking forward to the next phase which includes the construction of model farms in the identified communities of Moran and Kutubu.
“Santos is committed to creating positive and long-term impacts in the communities where we live and work, and we thank the FPDA and PNGMPHS for their commitment and valuable support which will help build economic resilience, food security and improve nutrition in our communities.”
Since January, the FPDA project team and the company’s sustainable development and community affairs departments have been visiting the Moran communities of Kaipu, Baguale and Kegero and Kutubu communities of Soro, Inu, Waro, Man, Daka and Hegiso to raise community awareness and register interested people.
Through these engagements the project team were able to gather views from local farmers on the types of crops to plant and the resources they had.
Santos has invested more than K3 million in the sustainable commercial agriculture project which is now being accelerated as Coronavirus restrictions ease.