(PC: AusPNGBusinessCouncil - Bougainville cocoa farmers)

By Cathy Tukne

In 2024, Papua New Guinea's cocoa exports soared past K1.2 billion. A milestone not achieved by foreign corporations, but by smallholder farmers cultivating cocoa on customary land. What makes cocoa boom truly exciting is its direct impact: unlike extractive industries and other main agricultural export, cocoa benefits flow straight into the hands of local communities.

Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Papua New Guinea’s economy. It is the second-largest source of export earnings at 17%, trailing behind the mineral sector which dominates at 77%, according to the World Bank’s  June 2025 report. At a national scale, agriculture contributes around 26% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Three of the most valuable agricultural commodities are Palm oil, coffee and Cocoa. Together they represent nearly 90% of PNG’s total agricultural export values with Palm oil leading at 51%, coffee, followed by cocoa at 15% and others.

See the table below.

Source: World Bank (2025, pages 67-68), PNG Agriculture Sector Review, CIC Reports, FAO Statistics.

From the overall export share in the agriculture sector, only cocoa has a huge impact on PNG’s small holder famers. Though its export volume is dwarfed by giants like oil palm and coffee, cocoa delivers far greater value directly to Papua New Guineans. Smallholder farmers in PNG capture up to 84% of the export price, making it one of the most equitable agricultural value chains in the country. It is small in volume, but its impact on household incomes and rural empowerment is profound.

The rest of the agricultural export in the country benefits foreign corporations, cooperate holders and large intermediaries. Smallholder farmers, who form the backbone of production, receive only a fraction of the final export value, as seen starkly evident in the cases of oil palm and coffee.

Take oil palm, for example. It is PNG’s largest agricultural export, contributing over 50% of total sector export earnings. But the lions share of profits flows to foreign-owned conglomerates such as Wilmar International, New Britain Palm Oil Ltd (NBPOL, a subsidiary of Sime Darby), and Ramu Agri Industries Ltd. PNG’s smallholder farmers receive less than 10% of the total export value, while external companies capture over 90%.

Almost every Papua New Guinean is connected to a piece of land, with agriculture forming the backbone of rural livelihoods. Yet it is deeply ironic that our people are given little opportunity to harness this land for downstream processing of agricultural commodities, limiting their ability to compete in global markets and capture real value.

As seen from the table above, it is conclusive, PNG’s major agricultural exports primarily enrich outsiders and does not empower our people.

The global demand for cocoa has lifted the veil from the government’s eyes, revealing the untapped potential of our land. Today, over2 million  households are generating real value by cultivating cocoa on customary land. This story offers a clear direction for policy and regulatory reform.

What makes Papua New Guinea truly unique is that the majority of land is held under customary ownership. Land is woven into our identity, culture, food security and rural economy. For Papua New Guineans, land is more than livelihood; it is life itself.

Fifty years into nationhood, our land is being surrendered not to the people who depend on it, but to extractive industries, sprawling plantations, special economic zones, carbon trading schemes, and other land-grabbing ventures that have never served our communities the way agriculture has. This persistent plague of dispossession continues to enrich foreign investors and the government of the day, while failing to uphold the protections envisioned in our National Constitution and Development Goals.

The land that sustains our communities is being commodified, not for collective progress, but for profit-driven agendas that erode our sovereignty, undermine our livelihoods, and silence our rights.

Today, PNG’s economy is heavily reliant on extractive industries and not agriculture. Just look at the current economic structure: 77% of export earnings come from extractives, while agriculture lags at 17%. And within the agriculture sector alone, only cocoa delivers direct benefits to landowners and rural livelihoods. Yet despite its transformative impact, cocoa accounts for just 15% of total agricultural exports.

This imbalance demands urgent policy attention.

(PC: GW logging from SABL Bairama, PNG)

At the National Government Collaboration Roundtable on July 14 this year, Secretary Koney Samuel of the Department of National Planning and Monitoring declared: “Agriculture must be revolutionized if PNG is to prosper.” His words echo a growing consensus, reaffirming the vision our forefathers enshrined in the National Goals and Directive Principles.

It was a call to return to the land, to empower its rightful custodians, and to build a future rooted in self-reliance, equity, and Papua New Guinean ways.  

PNG has approached its 50th Golden Jubilee. It is time to reflect deeply on our founding principles:

• Goal 1: Integral Human Development
• Goal 2: Equality and Participation
• Goal 3: National Sovereignty
• Goal 4: Natural Resources & Environment
• Goal 5: Papua New Guinean Ways

As PNG marks its 50th Golden Jubilee, the message is clear: our land is our wealth. Cocoa farmers have already shown us the way. Their success proves that when communities are empowered to manage their land, prosperity follows. Let this be a call to protect customary land, uplift its custodians, and place our people at the centre of national progress.