PYRETHRUM RESEARCH IN THE HIGH ALTITUDE HIGHLANDS OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Pyrethrum was introduced into the highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and was an attractive cash crop that sustained the livelihood of some 65-85,000 people.
Unfortunately, the pyrethrum extraction factory closed during 1995 and growers lost interest in this crop.
In 2003, the Enga Provincial Government invested funds to modernise the pyrethrum extraction factory and seek international support to assist the local industry.
In 2007, a broadly based team consisting of the Enga Provincial Government, PNG National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), Botanical Resources Australia Pty Ltd (BRA) and the Tasmania Institute of Agricultural Research (TIAR) was successful in obtaining a major funding grant from The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to re-commercialise the pyrethrum industry in PNG. This project supported R&D trials to improve the local plant material, improved growing and harvesting practices that was appropriate for the local growers and assisted in the refurbishment of the pyrethrum extraction factory.
This project was very successful and the pyrethrum industry appears to have a sustainable future, but would very much benefit from on-going support by NARI and the Enga Provincial Government.

I International Symposium on Pyrethrum, The Natural Insecticide: Scientific and Industrial Developments in the Renewal of a Traditional Industry

K. Sitango, E. Lindsay, A. Gracie, P. Brown, J. Wright, B. Chung

pyrethrum, PNG, ACIAR, re-commercialisation, research and development

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1073.5