Pesticide‐handling practices: the case of coffee growers in Papua New Guinea

Pesticide mismanagement potentially has high risks for farmers, households living in the community and the environment. In Papua New Guinea where farming is the primary occupation, there is evidence of dangerous herbicide application methods being used by coffee growers. Using original survey data for coffee smallholders from four provinces, we assess the factors driving farmers' use of personal protective equipment when preparing and applying herbicides, and farmers' disposal of agro‐chemical containers. We control for households' demographic variables and measure the impact of farmers' training in pest and disease management. We use the special regressor method to estimate binary choice models featuring an endogenous binary regressor (training). Our results show that human capital (education) and training are important drivers of farmers' pesticide‐handling practices, with marginal effects estimated at 10 and 22 per cent, respectively.     

应用皮肤光毒性实验仪进行化妆品皮肤光毒性试验的研究

[目的]探讨应用皮肤光毒性实验仪进行化妆品皮肤光毒性试验的试验条件和阳性对照物8-MOP的合适试验浓度。[方法]观测皮肤光毒性实验仪的UVA光强度与开机时间的关系,并根据测得的光强度平均值计算得出光毒性试验所需的照射时间;用不同浓度的8-MOP进行试验,排除8-MOP的原发性刺激作用,选择适宜的应用浓度进行皮肤光毒性试验;对两个防晒粉底按所选仪器条件进行试验。[结果]照射开始后2-100m in,UVA光强度稳定在4.3-4.4 mW/cm^2,平均值为4.4 mW/cm^2,故试验时的照射时间为38m in;用皮肤光毒性实验仪进行光毒性试验,0.05%8-MOP能引起豚鼠皮肤明显光毒性反应并且不引起原发性刺激反应;相同试验条件下未见两种防晒粉底引起豚鼠皮肤显著光毒性反应。[结论]用皮肤光毒性实验仪进行化妆品皮肤光毒性试验可行、有效。     

An alternative approach to community-based ecotourism: a bottom-up locally initiated non-monetised project in Papua New Guinea

Community-based ecotourism (CBET) is presented as a tool for conservation and sustainable development by conservation practitioners and development agencies, but is reported to have achieved little. Several scholars argue that many problems stem from inadequate power relationships between external actors and local communities, leading to low community participation. This study opens a debate on governance and social enterprise in CBET by examining a bottom-up approach to community-based ecotourism based on a small-scale CBET initiative in an amenity-poor remote indigenous community in Papua New Guinea. This initiative is unique in the following aspects: it was initiated by a community member; external assistance was advisory only; no external financial assistance was given; and it has taken place in a non-monetised economy. Participant observation and in-depth interviews with local key informants were used to identify community-defined positive/negative impacts and community participation processes. Overall, there was substantial support for the project; it contributed to community welfare, generated economic benefit, had positive conservation outcomes and from the viewpoint of the community had no adverse cultural impacts. One of the keys for success was the development of a strong community agency that led to high community participation and individual rather than the community ownership.     

Gender, poverty and deprivation: Evidence from the Republic of Guinea

The article examines the relationship between gender and consumption poverty and between gender and deprivation in the Republic of Guinea. National household survey data reveal that women are not more likely than men to be consumption poor or to suffer greater consumption poverty. Participatory Poverty Assessment data from the village of Kamatiguia reveal that women are “worse off” than men when deprivation includes, inter alia, excessive work load and reduced decision-making authority. When consumption poverty poorly correlates with other dimensions of deprivation, it should not be the sole guide for equity-based policy intervention.     

Exploiting comparative advantage in agriculture and resources: the way forward for Small Island States

Using Papua New Guinea as a case study, this paper investigates the macroeconomic and sectoral impacts of various developments in its agricultural and resource sector. It was found that commodity booms from 2004 to 2009 and the proposed large liquefied natural gas project increase output growth substantially but with Dutch disease consequences. The output expansion of the agricultural and fishery sectors on the other hand has limited positive impacts and the challenge lies in raising the productivity growth in these sectors and the better use of foreign aid. Lastly, the optimal policy strategy for sustainable development in the agricultural, fishery and resource sectors lies in the packaging of appropriate complementary policies (both institutional and economic) that support one another and the coherent implementation of these policies in a timely manner.     

Rural households in Papua New Guinea afford better diets with income from small businesses

Papua New Guinea is an economic leader in the Pacific region via its extractive resources. However, these industries do not provide employment opportunities for the country’s 6.4 million (80% of total population) rural inhabitants. Rural nonfarm enterprises (NFEs) could offer an additional source of structural change, whereby benefits are capitalized by domestic rural and urban households along the value chain. In 2018, we administered a survey to over 1000 households to gauge whether households with NFEs afford better diets. We examine the factors associated with NFE ownership using a multinomial logit (MNL) framework. We then evaluate whether welfare effects differ by the sex of the NFE owner using nearest neighbor matching to address selection into NFE ownership. Results suggest households with a NFE obtain greater levels of consumption on the order of 26% for protein per person, 11% for kilocalories per person, 13% for total yearly expenditures per person, and 10% for household dietary diversity. Results point to the resounding limitations of female-owned NFEs primarily created to cope with income risk. The findings highlight the relevance of NFEs as a poverty reduction strategy and the importance of targeting when promoting in-country entrepreneurship.     

Reporting issues challenging the National Roads Authority of Papua New Guinea: the case for using local indigenous mechanisms

For many years, considerable resources have been expended on the National Roads Authority of Papua New Guinea to help build up and maintain the road assets for the economic and social development of Papua New Guinea. Evidence from the audit reports of the auditor-general of Papua New Guinea suggests that there appears room to improve the reporting and accountability of this authority through local indigenous mechanisms. The paper is an important warning for donor organizations about opportunism and how to prevent it (and worse).     

控哮涂膜剂的皮肤致敏性实验研究

目的 考察控哮涂膜剂对动物皮肤是否具有致敏性,为其临床安全性评价提供依据.方法 皮肤致敏性实验通过与2,4-二硝基氯苯对照,采用豚鼠同体左右侧自身比较法研究控哮涂膜剂对皮肤的致敏性.结果 控哮涂膜剂反复致敏后使用,未发生皮肤过敏反应.结论 本品局部用药后,对正常皮肤无致敏性.     

Poverty analysis in the lowlands of Papua New Guinea underscores climate vulnerability and need for income flexibility*

A severe El Niño event in 2015/16 decimated an important share of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) local crop production, leaving 10 per cent of the population with significant food shortages. Lack of recent socio‐economic data and analysis of the country's rural population impeded efforts to plan and mitigate the ensuing food crisis. This paper presents the most recent poverty analysis in Papua New Guinea in nearly a decade, and a renewed effort to inform rural production, consumption and livelihood patterns in some of the country's most remote, lowland areas. We designed a rural household survey that collected detailed consumption and expenditure data to explore poverty prevalence and correlates of per capita household expenditure. Results suggest that approximately half of the sampled individuals live in households with total per capita expenditures below the poverty line. Climate shocks have significant and possibly long‐term consequences for household welfare. Households that experienced a drought in the last 5 years are associated with significantly lower per capita expenditures. Labour diversification, via migration, is associated with greater welfare. Households with at least one migrant member are associated with 13 per cent greater per capita expenditure.