People plant crops among trees to make better use of land

PEOPLE in the Markham Valley have been planting crops in between trees planted years ago by PNG Biomass.
As Oil Search’s renewable energy business, PNG Biomass is promoting the practice of intercropping to help landowners maximise productivity on their land.
Agroforestry enables landowners to leverage the heavy machinery that clears the land and the preparation done by PNG Biomass to improve soil quality.
Oil Search’s Papua New Guinea country manager Leon Buskens said that PNG Biomass was a classic example of how the company engaged with landowners and communities.
“With PNG Biomass continuously expanding their plantation footprint in scattered small blocks in the Markham Valley, new landowner groups are eagerly anticipating to open up their land to small-scale agroforestry production,” Buskens said.
“With landowners free to run their own intercropping businesses, they are only required by PNG Biomass to follow a few simple guidelines.”
A team from PNG Biomass regularly conducts intercropping training and field demonstration, focused on ensuring communities understand the basic requirements of weeding, distancing crops from trees and plough lines.
The most recent intercropping training and demonstration was carried out at Mempem-ampes attended by 30 farmers.
In 2019, a baseline assessment was conducted on intercropping practices across the Markham Valley.
The results included that best harvests and incomes are generated from pumpkins, melons and cucumbers.
Women reported single harvest incomes of around K3,000 from intercropping on areas smaller than half an hectare.