Robusta coffee and cocoa are other cash earners. However, the province is mostly underdeveloped. The Sepik river is the heart of province, but its flooding limits the use of nearby flat land. Other areas are covered by infertile grasslands. Half the population is crowded in the hill country north of the river.
Malnutrition is a problem there.
13.7 per cent of the people born in the East Sepik have moved to other provinces.