Food security in PNG

摘要

PNG has the opportunity to achieve food security and there are many ways this can be done. However, food security is not the same as food self-sufficiency. Food security does not necessarily mean that we have to grow all, or even some, of our food. The proportion of imported and home-produced food should depend on relative prices and on the products that PNG can produce best. In planning for food security, the role of the government is to provide research and development on food crops and cash crops. The market producers will eventually determine the types of crops and the locations at which they are grown. Inefficient production of unsuitable crops for PNG will divert valuable resources that could be used to successfully grow other more suitable crops. The recent drought has shown how hard it is to attain food security and that this will be almost impossible if the macroeconomy is not run properly. In the future, it should be possible for a well-run economy to borrow money to finance such catastrophes. PNG has to ensure that its fanning systems are able to cope with the growth in population, that it is not depleting the soil through overuse and that new systems are developed that will be sustainable over time.