Review of Agro-Chemicals Use in the Agriculture and Livestock Sector of Papua New Guinea.

Abstract

Agriculture chemicals are widely available and used in the Agriculture and Livestock sector especially, by large coffee, oil palm and sugar plantations. Limited quantities of chemicals were used in the Cocoa, Coconut and Livestock industry. Smallholder farmers used very little to no chemicals; majority of the smallholder farmers produce organic produce. Fertilizer was the major chemical imported and used by the agriculture sector, followed by pesticides ( herbicides, insecticide and fungicide). About 98 % of chemicals sold by chemical distributors were herbicides (glyphosate and paraquat), which are high in demand, with limited quantities of insecticides, fungicides and pesticides. Chemical distributors in the country distributed similar range of chemicals and the quantity based on local demand. The amount of agriculture chemicals imported increased by 9 % on average annually, correlated to the level of agriculture activities, though influenced by commodity price. Annual importation of fertilizer, fungicide, and insecticide increased on average by (9 %), (3 %), and (13 %) respectively. The common chemicals used in small quantities among the smallholder farmers were pesticides to manage pest and disease in fruits and vegetable production.