Cause and Effect of Livelihood Diversification on Cocoa Production in Papua New Guinea: A Case Study

Abstract

The important cash crop of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is Cocoa. Despite significant government investment, productivity remains below capacity, owing to the government's technological research, growth, and extension (RD&E) emphasis. The aim of this research was to determine the impact of livelihood diversification on cocoa production in selected areas of PNG's Morobe and East New Britain provinces. The specific goal was to see if the study areas' cocoa production was influenced by farmers' livelihood diversification activities. The livelihood diversity and its effects on cocoa production in the selected provinces were studied using a cross-sectional descriptive analysis involving semi-structured interviews and discussions in the form of phenomenological reflection. NVivo software was used to analyse the data. Land scarcity, land tenure, risk minimization, cultural influences, farming system patterns, opportunities, comparative advantage, and the impact of modern changes were discovered to be the key causes of farmer participation in diversified livelihood activities.  The key motivation for diversifying livelihood practises was to increase a household's income portfolio and boost their social standing. As a result, despite its value, smallholder farmers do not devote their full attention to cocoa production.