Since the establishment of oil palm land settlement schemes (LSSs) in West New
Britain Province, Papua New Guinea, the settler population has increased significantly
as second-generation settlers marry and raise families on their parents’ blocks. We
explore how settlers are responding to demographic and socio-economic change in an
environment in which opportunities for land-use change are limited. In the context of
rising population pressure, LSS smallholders are developing innovative livelihood
strategies by pursuing non-farm income sources, increasing food production, acquiring
additional land and migration. The type of migration or land accumulation strategy
depends on household access to various resources, especially social and kinship
networks, and capital. Agricultural extension and rural development policies have not
yet responded to this socio-agronomic transformation. We conclude that economic
diversification amongst smallholders creates new opportunities for the oil palm industry
to formulate more innovative and sustainable policies that strengthen the oil palm
industry in PNG while facilitating broad-based rural development.