Dr R.M. (‘Mike’) Bourke is an agricultural scientist and geographer and is a specialist in Papua New Guinea agriculture. He has been continuously involved in research, consulting, training, and development in PNG and other Pacific Island nations since 1970 and lived in PNG for 13 years. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Agriculture and was appointed in 2015 as an Officer of the Order of Logohu by Papua New Guinea for services to PNG agriculture.
He is a specialist in food production and has been engaged on a continuous basis in PNG and elsewhere in the Pacific Islands since 1970. He has conducted fieldwork in all 93 districts in PNG, as well as in several islands in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.