Galip nut as an alternative crop for farmer groups
10 Nov 2025
Farmer groups across the New Guinea Islands Region are embracing galip nut cultivation, marking a significant shift in rural agricultural innovation opening new opportunities for income, resilience, and diversification.
Under the PNG Agriculture Commercialization and Diversification Cocoa Project (PACD), several farmer groups that once focused primarily on cocoa and poultry have expanded their activities to include galip nut production. This diversification is being supported through ongoing collaboration with Frangipani Foods Limited (FFL) a locally established family company with more than 40 years of technical agricultural expertise, particularly in food and cash crop development.
Training expands across the Islands Towards the end of 2025, FFL Extension Officer Alfred Tokas conducted a series of field visits and training sessions with partnerships including Agmark Limited and the South Coast New Britain Farmer Supply Groups in Pomio and Kandrian. Similar training also reached grower groups in Halia, Nova, and Pemana in Buka.
Farmers were trained in: • First Stage Processing of Galip (FSPG) • Harvesting and quality sorting • Depulping and float testing • Drying of Nuts in Shell (NIS) • Setting up aggregation points • Galip seed selection and germination techniques
These capacity-building efforts have already generated impressive outcomes. Partnerships in Pomio and Kandrian have established galip nurseries with 100,000 seedlings now nearing readiness for distribution, with Buka partnerships also following suit. Extension visits have been carried out in Melkoi LLG, West Pomio LLG, and Lower Sinivit LLG, where lead farmers and aggregators have been identified to drive production in their communities. Boosting the value chain.
Growers Associations have also taken proactive steps by constructing a galip solar dryer to enhance post harvest quality. They have engaged a local youth group in buying and aggregation activities in Vimi community Kokopo district, creating new income streams while strengthening rural supply chains. Overall, the partnerships are demonstrating strong initiative and building capacity to support a rapidly growing galip industry in the region.
Galip as a crop for the future PACD Project Manager Dr John Moxon highlighted that 18 partnerships are currently implementing activities, and several have wisely adopted galip as a diversified crop within their cocoa farming systems.
“Galip is an excellent permanent shade tree for cocoa,” Dr Moxon explained. “It provides farmers with additional income, improves food security, and contributes to climate change mitigation. That is very important for the PACD Project.”
Dr Moxon emphasized that building the galip industry in the New Guinea Islands Region is a long term objective. Taking PNG galip nut to the world stage FFL is driving a bold vision: to transform galip nut into a major export crop and introduce Papua New Guinea’s unique nut to the global market. The company aims to create a new cash crop for rural farmers who previously had limited options, while boosting PNG’s export earnings through diversification.
“The world does not yet know about the galip nut,” Dr Moxon added. “But the global market is ready for it. It’s nutritious, healthy, and holds special value. We want to see PNG galip shining on the world stage.”
Dr Moxon encouraged farmers across the region to plant galip as a shade tree in cocoa blocks. He also urged those who already have galip trees but are not selling their nuts to organize themselves, aggregate their harvests, and bring them to the market.
Under the PNG Agriculture Commercialization and Diversification Cocoa Project (PACD), several farmer groups that once focused primarily on cocoa and poultry have expanded their activities to include galip nut production. This diversification is being supported through ongoing collaboration with Frangipani Foods Limited (FFL) a locally established family company with more than 40 years of technical agricultural expertise, particularly in food and cash crop development.
Training expands across the Islands Towards the end of 2025, FFL Extension Officer Alfred Tokas conducted a series of field visits and training sessions with partnerships including Agmark Limited and the South Coast New Britain Farmer Supply Groups in Pomio and Kandrian. Similar training also reached grower groups in Halia, Nova, and Pemana in Buka.
Farmers were trained in: • First Stage Processing of Galip (FSPG) • Harvesting and quality sorting • Depulping and float testing • Drying of Nuts in Shell (NIS) • Setting up aggregation points • Galip seed selection and germination techniques
These capacity-building efforts have already generated impressive outcomes. Partnerships in Pomio and Kandrian have established galip nurseries with 100,000 seedlings now nearing readiness for distribution, with Buka partnerships also following suit. Extension visits have been carried out in Melkoi LLG, West Pomio LLG, and Lower Sinivit LLG, where lead farmers and aggregators have been identified to drive production in their communities. Boosting the value chain.
Growers Associations have also taken proactive steps by constructing a galip solar dryer to enhance post harvest quality. They have engaged a local youth group in buying and aggregation activities in Vimi community Kokopo district, creating new income streams while strengthening rural supply chains. Overall, the partnerships are demonstrating strong initiative and building capacity to support a rapidly growing galip industry in the region.
Galip as a crop for the future PACD Project Manager Dr John Moxon highlighted that 18 partnerships are currently implementing activities, and several have wisely adopted galip as a diversified crop within their cocoa farming systems.
“Galip is an excellent permanent shade tree for cocoa,” Dr Moxon explained. “It provides farmers with additional income, improves food security, and contributes to climate change mitigation. That is very important for the PACD Project.”
Dr Moxon emphasized that building the galip industry in the New Guinea Islands Region is a long term objective. Taking PNG galip nut to the world stage FFL is driving a bold vision: to transform galip nut into a major export crop and introduce Papua New Guinea’s unique nut to the global market. The company aims to create a new cash crop for rural farmers who previously had limited options, while boosting PNG’s export earnings through diversification.
“The world does not yet know about the galip nut,” Dr Moxon added. “But the global market is ready for it. It’s nutritious, healthy, and holds special value. We want to see PNG galip shining on the world stage.”
Dr Moxon encouraged farmers across the region to plant galip as a shade tree in cocoa blocks. He also urged those who already have galip trees but are not selling their nuts to organize themselves, aggregate their harvests, and bring them to the market.
