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Support to Rural Entrepreneurship, Investment and Trade in Papua New Guinea (EU-STREIT PNG)

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News
In Papua New Guinea, Reviving Cocoa Is Opening Doors to Higher Education for a New Generation

In the Sepik region, the EU-STREIT PNG Programme is helping rural families rehabilitate their ageing, pest-damaged cocoa trees. As productivity improves, the extra income is helping pay for their children’s higher education and breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and isolation.

News
EU-STREIT PNG advances Geographical Indications for Sepik cocoa and vanilla

Three Sepik products are moving closer to becoming Papua New Guinea's first Geographical Indications. Misim Vanilla, Torricelli Vanilla and Yuat River Cocoa have had their specifications reviewed and validated, a step nearer to formal registration.

News
Outdoor Digital Notice Boards Give Sepik Cocoa Farmers a One-Stop Price Check

Rural cocoa farmers in East Sepik no longer need to walk around town checking buyer after buyer to compare prices. FAO, through the EU-STREIT PNG Programme and the Cocoa Board of PNG, has set up two outdoor digital screens, in Wewak and Maprik, that post daily buying prices in one place.

News
The Knowledge Remains: An Indigenous Officer Driving Change Forward in Papua New Guinea

In Wosera-Gawi, the EU-STREIT PNG Programme has helped turn one district officer's field experience into a lasting local system. Beyond the Programme's direct support, Angela Gossiba and the community advocates she trained are helping farming families plan together, manage cash-crop income, and invest in family and community priorities.

News
The Nine-Month Wait: Building a Vanilla Business in Papua New Guinea

Nancy Fale's family grew vanilla for nearly 30 years, through a boom that lifted them and a collapse that pushed many farmers away from the crop. Now, with support from the EU-STREIT PNG Programme, she is rebuilding the business and bringing other women in East Sepik with her.

 

The Support to Rural Entrepreneurship, Investment, and Trade in Papua New Guinea (EU-STREIT PNG) Programme is the largest grant-funded initiative of the European Union in the Pacific. Implemented as a United Nations joint programme by FAO, ILO, ITU, UNCDF, and UNDP, it aims to enhance rural livelihoods, promote economic growth, and build resilient communities in East Sepik and West Sepik provinces of Papua New Guinea.

The Programme strengthens key agribusiness value chains—cocoa, vanilla, and fisheries—while improving access to digital services, financial inclusion, transport infrastructure, and renewable energy solutions. It also focuses on strengthening micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and ensuring inclusivity of gender and youth, as well as differently abled persons along all nodes of these value chains.

Working in close collaboration with national, provincial, and local government and administration institutions, partners, and stakeholders, the EU-STREIT PNG Programme has:

  • Reached nearly half a million people
  • Benefited over 83,000 rural families
  • Built the capacity of 33,000+ farmers
  • Empowered more than 750 farming groups

By integrating sustainable agricultural practices, digital innovation, MSME development, and inclusive economic opportunities, the EU-STREIT PNG is fostering a more resilient and prosperous future for rural Papua New Guinea. 

In Focus
Infographic: How the EU-STREIT PNG Programme is Revitalizing the Cocoa Value Chain in Papua New Guinea’s Sepik Region
Infographic
Infographic: Revitalizing Cocoa Value Chain in Papua New Guinea’s Sepik Region
08/2025

Infographic: How the EU-STREIT PNG Programme is Revitalizing and Strengthening the Cocoa Value Chain to Advance Agribusiness, Promote Sustainable Development,...

Infographic: How the EU-STREIT PNG Programme is Revitalizing the Cocoa Value Chain in Papua New Guinea’s Sepik Region
Infographic
Infographic: Revitalizing Vanilla Value Chain in Papua New Guinea’s Sepik Region
08/2025

Infographic: How the EU-STREIT PNG Programme is Revitalizing and Strengthening the Vanilla Value Chain to Advance Agribusiness, Promote Sustainable...

Angela Gossiba, a government agricultural officer whose driving change in Wosera Gawi using GALS
02/07/2026

Angela Gossiba is local Sepik woman and a government officer who uses the Gender Action Learning System to shift household decisions and boost cocoa income in East Sepik Province. Angela is among pioneer local government officer upskilled and capacitated by FAO through the EU-STREIT PNG Programme.

Value Chain Development
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Cocoa Value Chain

Under the EU-STREIT PNG, various interventions are being implemented to address identified bottlenecks in the further development of cocoa-based agribusinesses and value chain activities. 

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Vanilla Value Chain

Under this Programme, a broad range of support and technical assistance is being undertaken to ensure that vanilla value chain is further developed. 

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Fisheries Value Chain

As part of this component, the EU STREIT PNG Programme focuses on developing in-shore and riverine fisheries and aquaculture. 

Donor

The Programme is being implemented thanks to the generous financial support provided by the European Union Delegation to Papua New Guinea. 

The EU-STREIT PNG Programme is the largest grant-funded project of the European Union in the country and in the Pacific region that was developed under the umbrella of 11th European Development Fund (2014-2020). 

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Funded by

the European Union

 

UN Partners

Four UN agencies, under the leadership of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as the leading agency/administrative agent, are partnering in the implementation of different components of the EU-STREIT Programme in Papua New Guinea. 

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Papua New Guinea Partners

The Programme is being implemented in close consultation, collaboration, and cooperation with Papua New Guinea's national, provincial, and local governments and administration institutions, as well as research centres, civil society organizations and the private sector.

The main line departments, administrations and authorities for the Programme are:

National Emblem of Papua New Guinea
  • Department of National Planning and Monitoring (DNPM)
  • Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL)
  • Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)
  • Department of Works and Highways (DoW)
  • Department of Commerce and Industries (DCI)
  • National Energy Authority (NEA)
  • National ICT Authority of Papua New Guinea (NICTA)
  • National Fisheries Authority (NFA)
  • Cocoa Board of PNG (CB)
  • Spice Industry Board of PNG (SIB)
  • Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA)
  • PNG Power Limited (PPL)