NARI is undertaking a project to conserve the rich diversity of sweetpotato varieties in the country.

The  ‘In situ Conservation and Utilization of Sweetpotato for Climate Smart Agriculture in Rural Papua New Guinea Communities’ project will be implemented over the next four years. In situ conservation refers to protection of endangered plant or animal species in its natural habitat.

The project is funded by the Benefit-sharing fund of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (ITPGR) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  

The project will be implemented in Central, Morobe, Madang and Eastern Highlands provinces. 

The project is aimed at building resilience across four provinces, through the introduction of elite sweetpotato varieties, promote conservation management, use of sweetpotato as a plant genetic resource for food and agriculture.

The project will support introduction, evaluation, and participatory breeding of sweetpotato and documentation of in situ characterisation information on all the cultivars used in the study. It will also enhance scientific skills and competencies in situ plant genetic resources (PGR) conservation.

Furthermore, there is great potential that the project activities would help to improve the institute’s capacity to conduct relevant research on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and upgrade its facilities. 

This should lead to quality results in terms of better management of collections; development of new breeding lines; as well as bulking and distribution of preferred sweetpotato planting materials.

Participating communities and farmers will be supported to increase their skills and knowledge in PGR.

This will ensure that they continue to maintain and conserve agro biodiversity after the project ends, especially in areas which are vulnerable to negative climate change impacts and food insecurity.

The main partner in the project is the PNG University of Technology. Various community-based agencies such as schools, non-governmental organisations and churches will also be engaged.