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

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Programme

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 Papua New Guinea and the Pacific region. Developed under the 11th European Development Fund (2014–2020), the Programme is implemented as a United Nations Joint Programme, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as the lead agency and administrative agent, in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It works in close collaboration with national, provincial, and local government and administration institutions, partners, and stakeholders to drive sustainable development and economic growth in rural Papua New Guinea.

Programme Focus and Outcomes

The Programme focuses on three key agrifood value chains—cocoa, vanilla, and fisheries (including aquaculture, riverine, and inshore/reef fisheries)—with the overarching objective of increasing sustainable and inclusive economic development in rural areas. This goal is pursued through two integrated outcomes:

  1. Enhancing economic returns and opportunities within the cocoa, vanilla, and fisheries value chains.
  2. Strengthening value chain enablers by improving the business environment and supporting the development of sustainable, climate-resilient transport and energy infrastructure.

The EU-STREIT PNG is also part of the FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative in Papua New Guinea, reinforcing its commitment to inclusive and sustainable rural development. 

Overall View of the EU-STREIT PNG Programme

Under Outcome 1, the Programme focuses on strengthening cocoa, vanilla, and fisheries value chains to increase their volume, value, and quality. By promoting value addition and expanding the number of enterprises involved, the Programme aims to boost incomes and improve food security and nutrition for all stakeholders.

Outcome 2 concentrates on creating more employment opportunities and supporting agripreneurs and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the targeted value chains. Key interventions include reducing transaction and transport costs, improving access to financial services (including digital banking and cashless payments), and expanding the availability and usage of ICT tools and digital platforms (e.g., e-marketing, e-commerce, and e-learning). The Programme also increases access to renewable energy solutions and rehabilitates roads and landing sites, further lowering transport costs and enhancing market connectivity.

Crosscutting Themes

Inclusivity is at the heart of the Programme, with women, youth, and differently abled persons prioritized as beneficiaries and actively engaged at all levels of the value chains. Specific targets and resources ensure their full participation and benefit from Programme activities.

Furthermore, the Programme supports MSME development through capacity-building initiatives, improved access to finance and digital services—including empowering agripreneurs in e-marketing, e-marketplace establishment, and e-commerce—and technical assistance. It also provides support for the development of enabling policies and frameworks that create a conducive environment for agribusiness development, such as the introduction of a GI Certification Scheme. By fostering business formalization and legalization, mentoring, and market linkages, these interventions enable MSMEs to scale up operations, create more jobs, and drive sustainable economic growth in local communities.

Benefits

Target beneficiaries receive both direct and indirect benefits. Direct benefits include higher incomes for producers, traders, agripreneurs, and MSMEs, as well as enhanced capacity to adapt to climate change and improved food security and nutrition. Indirect benefits include a more supportive policy, regulatory, business conducive environment. These outcomes are designed to motivate continued engagement in the three value chains beyond the Programme’s completion, while also integrating climate projections and adaptation measures into ongoing operations. 

Local Engagement

Drawing on lessons learned from previous European Union-funded projects, EU-STREIT PNG actively involves local government and communities to ensure interventions are effectively implemented and sustained for long-term impact.

Contribution to Papua New Guinea’s National Development Priorities (MTDP IV)

The EU-STREIT PNG Programme is streamlined to contribute to Papua New Guinea’s national development priorities and agendas outlined in the Medium-Term Development Plan IV (MTDP IV). In particular, it addresses four Strategic Priority Areas (SPAs):

SPA 1: Strategic Economic Investment

Under this priority, the Programme advances Key Results Areas (KRAs) of MTDP IV by boosting agricultural productivity, agribusiness growth, and market connectivity in cocoa, vanilla, and fisheries:

  • Cocoa Value Chain
    • 3,000 hectares of cocoa blocks rehabilitated.
    • 275 small-scale nurseries established or rehabilitated.
    • Over 3 million CPB-tolerant seedlings planted, with an additional 1 million in distribution.
    • 5,000 cocoa dryer kits and 100 combination dryers provided (ongoing).
    • Two cocoa downstream processing facilities in development.
    • 355 cocoa MSMEs formed and formalized.
    • 17,400+ cocoa farmers trained in improved and climate-smart production and processing.
    • 207 km of cocoa access roads upgraded (ongoing).
    • Hawain and Saramandi cocoa extension and research centres being rehabilitated.
    • Linkages established between Sepik cocoa producers and premium international markets (Australia, New Zealand, United States, Singapore, China).
    • Economic impact: Over PGK 135 million in incremental income generated so far, expected to exceed PGK 300 million by 2025 and PGK 400 million by 2026.
  • Vanilla Value Chain
    • 60 tonnes of quality vanilla produced, supported by 800,000 vines distributed.
    • 5,800 vanilla farmers trained in the Sepik, plus 300 in Milne Bay Province.
    • 96 vanilla MSMEs established and formalized.
    • Direct access to premium international markets via e-commerce platforms.
    • Economic impact: Over PGK 33 million in incremental income to date, projected to surpass PGK 48 million by 2027.
  • Fisheries and Aquaculture
    • 1,100 fishponds established for freshwater aquaculture, stocked with 98,000 fingerlings.
    • 4 fish nurseries supported.
    • 25 solar freezers provided for fisheries product storage.
  • MSME Development
    • 750 agribusiness MSMEs (cocoa, vanilla, fisheries) formalized and legalized.
    • 33,000+ farmers trained, including agripreneurs in e-marketing, e-commerce, and e-marketplace establishment.
    • 58,000+ women in MSMEs connected to financial services.
    • 10 banking mini-branches established across all districts of Sepik.
    • 200 financial service access points created.
    • Support provided for business formalization, mentoring, and market linkages.
    • Development of enabling policies and frameworks for a conducive agribusiness environment (e.g., GI Certification Scheme).
SPA 2: Connect PNG Infrastructure

To strengthen rural connectivity and reduce transaction costs, the Programme supports critical infrastructure:

  • 207 km of rural roads upgraded (ongoing) and 312 km maintained.
  • 215 km of waterways cleared to improve access (recently initiated).
  • Five remote airstrips in the Sepik under rehabilitation.
  • Seven Resource Centres established (four more in progress).
  • Nine Renewable Energy Solar Photovoltaic sites installed, powering six schools and three health centres.
  • 500 home-scale solar kits distributed to farming communities (ongoing).
  • Management Information Systems (MIS) developed for West and East Sepik Provincial Administrations, DAL, and the Cocoa Board (ongoing).
 SPA 11: Population, Youth, and Women Empowerment

The Programme prioritizes women and youth empowerment through inclusion at all nodes of the value chains and in managerial and decision-making positions within agribusinesses:

  • Over 58,000 women connected to digital financial services.
  • Targeted training and capacity building for women and youth in agripreneurship.
  • Support for the development of a Women in Agriculture Policy (ongoing).
 SPA 12: Strategic Partnerships

The EU-STREIT PNG Programme collaborates with national authorities, local governments, and development partners to maximize impact:

  • 750 MSMEs (cocoa, vanilla, fisheries) formalized and legalized, creating sustainable business models.
  • Support for Spice Industry Board Policy (in progress).
  • Agricultural Management Information System (AMIS) drafted and handed over to authorities.
  • Enhanced coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of budget expenditures, aligning with MTDP IV targets.

 By aligning with MTDP IV through these four Strategic Priority Areas, the EU-STREIT PNG Programme is expanding market opportunities, strengthening rural livelihoods, and fostering inclusive and climate-resilient economic growth. Through strategic partnerships, robust infrastructure development, and targeted support for women, youth, and MSMEs, the Programme ensures long-term impacts that will continue to boost the nation’s development well beyond its completion date.

EU-STREIT PNG Approach

The EU-STREIT PNG Programme operates under the principles of the FAO Hand in Hand initiative, an evidence-based, country-led and country-owned initiative of FAO to accelerate agricultural transformation and sustainable rural development to eradicate poverty (SDG 1) and end hunger and all forms of malnutrition (SDG2]. In doing so, it contributes to the attainment of all the other Sustainable Development Goals.

The EU-STREIT PNG Programme uses the FAO-developed sustainable food value chain (SFVC) approach. A food value chain (FVC) consists of all the stakeholders who participate in the coordinated production and value-adding activities that are needed to make food products. An SFVC is a food value chain that: (1) is profitable throughout all of its stages (economic sustainability); (2) has broad-based benefits for society (social sustainability); and (3) has a positive or neutral impact on the natural environment (environmental sustainability).

The sustainable food value chain concept recognizes that value chains are dynamic, market-driven systems in which vertical coordination governance) is the central dimension and for which value addition and sustainability are explicit, multidimensional performance measures, assessed at the aggregate level. In the sustainable food value chain framework, value-addition refers to the difference between the non-labour cost of producing food and the consumer’s willingness to pay for it, adjusted for externalities.

The Programme itself embraces the sustainable food value chain concept and targets its focus value chains in two ways: (1) in component 1, it supports and develops various capacities of direct value chain actors in order to increase sustainability and profitability of the chains, with an intention to maximize value-addition across the whole VC and specifically upstream. The important part of a sustainable food value chain is to focus on women and youth in agriculture, so the value chains can become not only profitable, but inclusive as well; (2) in component 2, EU-STREIT PNG further focuses on the development and improvement of enabling environment and specific enablers around the value chains. This includes communications, infrastructure, renewable energy and capacities that improve value chain actors in their access to finance, knowledge, information and markets.

Implementing Agencies

  • The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is the leading Programme agency for the implementation of Programme Component 1 and parts of Component 2 with partners as hereunder.
  • The International Labour Organization (ILO) lead the implementation of infrastructure development sections (roads improvement and maintenance mainly of Component 2.
  • The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) supports Component 2 of the Programme, especially the activities related to Access to Finance, Rural Banking and Cashless payment systems. Also supports the financial literacy of the beneficiaries and an improved business environment.
  • The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is responsible for the development of the telecommunications and ICT innovations and partnerships within Component 2 of the Programme.
  • The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supports the implementation of Renewable Energy Policy and solutions within Component 2 of EU-STREIT PNG with a focus on selected public institutions.