Food, coffee and Casuarina: An agroforestry system from the Papua New Guinea highlands

An agroforestry farming system is described from the Papua New Guina highlands (1400 to 2100 m) that has been developed by village growers since about 1960 and has expanded rapidly since about 1970. Major components of the system are numerous species of annual and perennial food crops (especially bananas), arabica coffee and Casuarina oligodon. It provides food, a cash crop and timber for construction and fuel. It is likely that returns on labour inputs are very favourable, but no formal assessments have been made. Evaluation of the system as a whole, and research on certain key components (Casuarina ecology, banana cultivars, timing of operations) are suggested as high priority areas for systematic studies.