Livelihood Adaptation and Food Security in Papua New Guinea
Summary
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is characterised by vast ecological diversity, intricate social structures and a predominance of subsistence agriculture. Livelihood adaptation in PNG encompasses a range of responses to environmental change, market integration and demographic pressures. Highland gardeners modify traditional shifting-cultivation practices through shorter fallow cycles and intercropping of fast-maturing tubers, while coastal and island communities diversify into aquaculture, small-scale fisheries and agroforestry. These strategies are underpinned by social networks, customary land tenure and gendered divisions of labour. Despite this adaptive capacity, food security remains fragile. Seasonal variability, soil degradation and rising food prices in urban centres limit dietary diversity. In remote areas, reliance on staple root crops is exacerbated by limited access to nutritious imports and basic services. Emerging research highlights the potential of crop diversification, participatory land-use planning and community-led market linkages to strengthen resilience. Integrating local ecological knowledge with targeted support for soil regeneration and post-harvest storage promises to mitigate yield declines. The PNG experience has global significance as a test case for sustaining livelihoods under rapid climatic and economic change in smallholder-dominated landscapes.
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Livelihood Adaptation and Food Security in Papua New Guinea publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in livelihood adaptation and food security in papua new guinea across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Livelihood adaptation: The process by which households adjust agricultural, labour and resource-use strategies in response to socio-economic and environmental change.
Food security: A condition in which all people have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet dietary needs.
Shifting cultivation: A traditional agricultural system involving periodic clearing, cultivation and fallow of forested land.
Fallow period: The span of time during which previously cultivated land is left unplanted to restore soil fertility.
Smallholder producer: A farmer operating a relatively small plot of land, often relying primarily on family labour and local markets.
Urban local-level government: The municipal authority responsible for planning, service delivery and infrastructure in towns and cities, influencing urban food environments.
References
- Food Security and Asset Creation in Solomon Islands: Gender and the Political Economy of Agricultural Production for Honiara Central Market. PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies (2019).
- Mutual capacity building: Mt Hagen local government and Orange City. Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance (2010).
- Impact of the time of returning soil fertility in the fallow land of Arfak Tribe in West Papua. Jurnal Biologi Tropis (2022).
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