Sago+ Takes Off
The Inception Workshop of the new Sago+ project was held on 13 May 2026 at the Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Research Institute Conference Centre in Port Moresby. This was followed by the Inaugural Project Advisory Group Meeting.
The Inception Workshop brought together 30 participants, including members of the Sago+ project team and representatives from different PNG Government institutions such as the National Youth Development Authority, the Western Provincial Administration, and the University of PNG; representatives from local partners; and staff from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) PNG Country Office.
Sago+ is based on an inclusive co-design process for strengthening food security in Western Province, PNG, and it works from the premise that Western Province is rich in local assets that are too-often overlooked in food security efforts.
Project Lead and CEI Member Ann Hill explains, “When solutions are sought for the food security challenges that an area such as Western Province faces (including climate change, limited access to agricultural resources, and environmental impacts of mining), agencies often miss what communities already know, value, and practice.”
“Sago is one of those under-valued assets yet it its importance ranges from being a crucial practical source of food through to embodying generations of agricultural and culture knowledge.”
Mr Wawewa Saebi, South Fly District Administrator, added “Sago is the livelihood of the Western Province. It is part of the everyday life of 80% of its people.”
Sago+ aims to strengthen food security through the meaningful participation of community members in the development process.
At the Inception Workshop, Professor Betty Lovai of the University of Papua New Guinea commended the co-design approach and emphasised that “geography matters as sago cultivation varies across the Western Province and therefore community consultation is important for planning food security.”
The first step is for local Community Researchers to gather and share co-created knowledge about existing place-based community economies rooted in the existing traditional food system in Western Province.
This locally-based work is supported by fortnightly reading group sessions that aim to cross-pollinate ideas within and between the PNG-based research team and team members based in other locations. These sessions are facilitated by CEI member Dr Pryor Placino, and coordinated by Pryor, Emma Anere, (Sago+ Project Coordinator and a 2025 CEI Summer/Winter School participant) and CEI Co-Chair Katherine Gibson.
The project is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). It builds on earlier research conducted by members of the research team for ACIAR on Strengthening agricultural resilience in Western Province.
Photo by Dokona Papua Group