ABSTRACT Ochroma pyramidale (balsa) is a fast-growing tree, grown as a plantation crop by both companies and smallholders in East New Britain Province (ENB) of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The ENB balsa industry is entirely export-oriented, producing 9% of the world’s processed balsa. Balsa products have outstanding strength-for-weight qualities and an increasing market in high-technology composite materials, such as wind turbine blades and transportation applications. Ochroma pyramidale is attractive to smallholders because it is a relatively low labour-input crop with competitive returns and a relatively short (5–6 years) harvest cycle. There are c. 6200 ha of balsa plantations in ENB, including c. 1900 ha grown and managed by c. 1500 individual smallholder farmers. A workforce of some 2500–3000 is engaged in balsa harvest, transport, processing and export in ENB. These activities operate under the regulatory oversight of the PNG Forest Authority, which also plays an ‘honest broker’ role in transactions between processing companies and smallholders. The major challenges faced by the ENB balsa industry relate to balsa plantation productivity and sustainability, market access in the context of forest certification and legality verification, and product development and diversification. This paper reports outcomes of a research project supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, in which Australian and PNG researchers worked with the ENB balsa industry to address these challenges. The project conducted balsa sector surveys and silvicultural experiments, introduced and tested genetic resources, and undertook both knowledge and product development for the industry. Key research outcomes included the development of a ‘smallholder friendly’ silvicultural regime that obviates the need for thinning or refilling, and should deliver greater merchantable volume and value recovery for growers; an updated Balsa Manual from which smallholder learning resources were developed and integrated into an established ENB agricultural training program; confirmation that harvesting recovery from smallholder plantations was consistent with log quality requirements, and that harvesting and transport activities were operating efficiently; and the development of new balsa panel products particularly suited to apartment interiors. Research also facilitated the adoption of certification in the ENB balsa sector, and identified targeted regulatory reform as desirable to support the continuing development of the ENB balsa industry.

中文翻译：

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改善巴布亚新几内亚东新不列颠省小农轻木价值链

摘要 Ochroma pyramidale (balsa) 是一种快速生长的树木，由巴布亚新几内亚 (PNG) 的东新不列颠省 (ENB) 的公司和小农户作为种植园作物种植。ENB 轻木行业完全以出口为导向，生产世界上 9% 的加工轻木。轻木产品具有出色的重量比强度和不断增长的高科技复合材料市场，例如风力涡轮机叶片和运输应用。Ochroma pyramidale 对小农很有吸引力，因为它是一种劳动投入相对较低、回报具有竞争力且收获周期相对较短（5-6 年）的作物。有 c。ENB 6200 公顷的轻木种植园，包括 c. 1900公顷由c种植和管理。1500 名个体小农。大约 2500-3000 名劳动力从事轻木收割、运输、在 ENB 中加工和出口。这些活动在巴布亚新几内亚林业局的监管下运作，该局还在加工公司和小农之间的交易中扮演“诚实经纪人”的角色。ENB 轻木行业面临的主要挑战涉及轻木种植园的生产力和可持续性、森林认证和合法性验证背景下的市场准入，以及产品开发和多样化。本文报告了澳大利亚国际农业研究中心支持的一个研究项目的成果，其中澳大利亚和 PNG 研究人员与 ENB 轻木行业合作应对这些挑战。该项目进行了轻木部门调查和造林实验，引进和测试了遗传资源，并为行业承担知识和产品开发。主要研究成果包括开发“小农友好型”造林制度，无需间伐或重新填充，并应为种植者提供更大的可销售量和价值恢复；一份更新的 Balsa 手册，从中开发了小农学习资源并将其整合到既定的 ENB 农业培训计划中 确认小农种植园的收获恢复符合原木质量要求，并且收获和运输活动有效运行；以及特别适合公寓室内设计的新型轻木板产品的开发。研究还促进了 ENB 轻木部门认证的采用，