The sustainability of Papua New Guinea agricultural systems: the conceptual background

Papua New Guinea offers an opportunity to study the Intensification and sustainability of village agriculture under the pressures of demographic change and social and economic development. This paper describes research investigating the process of agricultural intensification. Theories of intensification suggest the process is associated with increasing population, or with increased production for social purposes, or both. Intensification brings about changes that must be overcome by innovation. Innovation may demand temporary or permanent increases in labour, and changes in the social relations of production, but intensification without innovation is likely to lead to land degradation. A tension exists between the environment, social organization, production and the adoption of innovative techniques, which may determine whether intensification is sustainable. The research is presently identifying, mapping and systematically describing agricultural systems. Preliminary results suggest intensification is positively associated with altitude, sweet potato (lpomoea batatas) cultivation, and with a number of innovative agronomic techniques.