Rob Small's Masters Thesis: Uptake and the success of insect ...

presentation of a series of case studies. This chapter will address, through analysis of
IFTA’s purchasing records, how Papua New Guinea’s rural population has taken up this
source of income.
An analysis of the level of earnings through insect collecting and farming has been
conducted using IFTA’s purchasing records. This is in order to gain an insight into the
earnings and success of farmers and collectors throughout Papua New Guinea. The analysis
of the records has been conducted with the aim to answer the following questions-
1. Where has insect farming and collecting been conducted in Papua New Guinea?
2. How long have farming and collecting projects lasted in particular areas?
3. What have been the levels of income for insect farmers and collectors?
4. How long do individuals work as farmers or collectors?
5. Has long-term success been determined by location?
Methods
Since the establishment of IFTA, annual records have been kept of all the Agency’s
purchases of insects from Papua New Guinean collectors and farmers. These records detail
the farmers name, location, date and amount paid. Records from 1995 and 2002 were
chosen for the ‘success’ analysis. This time period was chosen for a number of reasons; a
continuous time set was required for thorough analysis, the records for 2003 are not
complete as IFTA has not yet fulfilled all its payments for that year and due to time
constraints it was not possible to go back further than 1995.
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