Rapid assessment of 2026 El Nino in PNG: Observations during a fresh produce value chain study

The National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) conducted a detailed fresh produce value chain survey along the Highlands Highway from August through September 2026 to investigate challenges and opportunities for growing the fresh vegetable sector in Papua New Guinea (Figure 1 displays survey areas). While preparing for the survey, PNG stakeholders requested that the survey team collect data on evolving conditions due to the severe El Niño predicted for 2026-2027. After a variety of stakeholder consultations, a survey module was designed to allow survey supervisors to provide open-text observations of community conditions related to El Niño based on 6 indicators. The six indicators had accompanying question prompts for supervisors to consider as they observed each theme in the survey communities, respectively