December 2010 - LRD Newsletter

vol 6 no 3

December 2010

Pacific heads of agriculture and forestry meeting highlight agrobiodiversity

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he Fourth Regional Meeting of Heads of Agriculture and Forestry Services (HOAFS) was held from 14 to 17 September 2010, at Tanoa International, Nadi, Fiji Islands.

In recent national and regional forums, there have been strong expressions of concern and calls for more concerted efforts to address global issues such as climate change, food security, biosecurity and trade, pest and disease incursions, organic agriculture, and the place of youth in agriculture. The 2010 HOAFS meeting addressed these issues within the context of the meeting theme, Agrobiodiversity to address climate change, food security and trade, which recognises the UN International Year of Biodiversity 2010.

The meeting was opened by Fiji’s Minister for Primary Industries, Joketani Cokanasiga who urged the forum to encourage self-sufficiency and the reliance of our people on traditional practices that have sustained agriculture in the Pacific for generations.

“2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity and it is very apt that the Heads of Agriculture and Forestry have as their theme “agro-biodiversity to address

climate change, food security and trade”.”

He said agrobiodiversity can be used as a tool to address the reduction of poverty, promote development and improve food security.

“To achieve this, a new approach to agricultural research and development is needed. This approach is more complex, based on strategies aimed at farming systems rather than particular crops, and less reliance on external inputs,” he said.

It requires greater appreciation of the multiple goods and services provided by biological diversity in agricultural ecosystems. This new approach also requires greater participation from all sectors and agencies and all levels of the community.

Agrobiodiveristy provides us with a wonderful opportunity to ensure food production in very challenging times, and at the same time do minimum damage to our precious environment, we have to maintain our roots - but we have to treat our environment with respect and guarantee that at all times to have a place where we truly belong.

“Much can be gained from the ....cont’d on pg 2

The HOAFS forum is made up of CEOs, Directors and Permanent Secretaries of Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry of the 22 member states of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). The Suva-based Land Resources Division (LRD) of SPC provides the secretariat for HOAFS. The biannual HOAFS meeting is the main regional platform for discussing Pacific agriculture and forestry issues, and for updating members on developments at the national and regional level across the two sectors. volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

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Land Resources News

Land Resources News is the quarterly newsletter of SPC Land Resources Division. vol 6 no 3

December 2010

CONTENTS 4th HOAFS Meeting................................ 1 Organic morning tea at Forum Leaders Meeting.......................... 3 International Year of Forests................. 4 Solomon Islands contribute to tree planting campaign................................... 5 Climate change, forestry and crown-of-thorns starfish........................... 6 GTZ announces EUR 14.2 million for climate change adaptation............. 7 Support for Tonga climate change....... 7 Stronger resolve needed to improve farmer livelihood..................................... 9 SPC-LRD launches new website............. 10 ISPMs reviewed........................................ 12 FACT Awards............................................. 13 Kirimati atoll banana evaluations......... 14 Vanuatu Yam Festival.............................. 15 Diversity restores taro exports.............. 16 Cleaner pathways for export taro....... 16 Declining productivity not linked to climate change.................................... 17 Project to conserve crops at risk........... 17 Go Local Micronesia at internationl symposium............................ 19 Regional experts review draft ISPMs.......................................................... 19 Certification and community development............................................. 20 Making land work.................................... 21 Pacific ‘laboratorians’ network.............. 22 Tonga World Food Day.......................... 23 Vanuatu farmers practice pesticide free agriculture........................................ 24 Rust bacteria is the killer........................ 26 Fiji Organic Association.......................... 27 All ACP Agricultural Commodities......... 28

4th HOAFS

sustainable use of agrobiodiversity at the individual, local, national and regional level, and beyond that globally. At the local level, the diversity found within a home garden can be increased through growing a range of crops and also not the same variety of one crop. Growing different crops and varieties ensures a diverse healthy diet, and food on the table regardless of the weather patterns.

At the national level, using practices that safeguard and sustainably utilize agricultural biodiversity will secure food production, and at the same time, support a healthy Pacific population.”

“ Local knowledge and culture can be considered as integral parts of agro biodiversity, because it is the human activity of agriculture which conserves this biodiversity and most crop plants have now lost their original dispersal mechanisms and need human input to thrive,” Cokanasiga said.

Cokanasiga stressed that the range of populations are needed by agriculture, such as pollinators (bees and such like) and beneficial predators.

“These populations must have habitat diversity to survive and Agriculture and Forestry therefore provides incentives to preserve areas, which support these populations.”

“If we do not ensure there are habitats for these beneficial insects to prosper in, then agricultural production could be negatively affected.” Cokanasiga said.

Essential functions such as

nutrient cycling, decomposition of organic matter, pest and disease control and pollination are all maintained by a wide range of populations in and near agricultural ecosystems.

Increased nutrient availability and improved water helps to produce better and more food and this emanates from building on and enhancing these functions.

“Soil health is an area that has been much neglected in recent years with the constant drive to get more production out of the land.” Mr Cokanasiga said

“However recently farmers, extensionists and researchers are realizing that the time has come to put back into the soil what has been taken out and to use agricultural systems that will improve and nurture soil health.”

Using agricultural practices that build on existing ecological processes such as soil conservation, and biological pest control, and utilizing systems that include crop and livestock diversity, can reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides, thereby preserving the health of the agricultural ecosystem, and ensuring food production into the future.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines agro biodiversity as all of the components of biological diversity relevant to food and agriculture including agricultural ecosystems.

It therefore encompasses the variety and variability of animals, plants and micro-organisms at the ....cont’d on pg 11

For feedback, comments and contributions, please contact: EmilA@spc.int, or the LRD helpdesk, lrdhelpdesk@spc.int.

SPC Land Resources Division Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fiji Islands Telephone: (679) 337 0733 Fax: (679) 337 0021 Visit our website: www.spc.int/lrd

Fiji’s Minister for Primary Industries, Hon Joketani Cokanasiga (left) urged HOAFS members to encourage self-sufficiency and the reliance of our people on traditional practices that have sustained agriculture in the Pacific for generations. Fiji MPI Permanent Secretary, Lt Colonel Mason Smith (2nd from left), chaired the 4th HOAFS meeting.

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

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as secretariat to POETComm Vanuatu with representation from the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry, Fisheries, Quarantine and Livestock, Department of Livestock & Quarantine, Cocoa Growers Association, Vanuatu Organic Growers Association, ACTIV Association, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Leading Samoa NGO Women in Business provided much needed technical assistance in driving the organics movement in the early days which has resulted in the formation of a network of organic organisations in the Pacific island countries and territories.

The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) as well as FAO provided initial funding to the Pacific organics movement.

Head of the Pacific high level organic group, the Hon Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Sailele (seen above introducing POETCom to Pacific leaders) commented that small islands should do away with chemicals and go organics.

Bigfala organic morning tea served to Pacific leaders

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anuatu organic stakeholders came together in May and formed an interim committee to spearhead the organic movement in Vanuatu. Their first task was to take advantage of the Forum Leaders Meeting being held in Vanuatu in August to impress upon the leaders the significance of organic products.

Subsequently, the Forum Leaders were treated to an organic morning tea organised by the Vanuatu interim committee. Each head of delegation was presented a gift which included fair trade pandanus baskets from a community in Ambrae island, and Venui vanilla baskets containing dried vanilla beans, black pepper and honey-coated Pacific almond nut (Terminalia).

Head of the Pacific high level organic group, the Hon Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Sailele commented that small islands should do away with chemicals and go organics. He said the organic gifts should remind the leaders to promote organics back in their home islands. He thanked the Vanuatu organic stakeholders for hosting the bigfala organic morning tea.

The organics movement in the Pacific is being driven by the Pacific Organic and Ethical Trade Committee (POETComm) which is an initiative of the Land Resources Division of SPC to address one of its objectives of reducing the use chemicals in food production.

Farm Support Association acts

New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key sampling island food served at the POETCom sponsored organic morning tea at the Forum Leaders Meeting in August in Vanuatu. New Zeland have requested POETCom to organise a similar event at the next Forum Leaders Meeting in New Zealand in 2011.

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

For more information on PETCOmm, contact Stephen Hazelman: StephenH@spc.int or Nambo Moses nmoses@vanuatu.gov.vu

New Caledonia gets organic certification system An agreement was signed at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia, allowing the association Bio CalĂŠdonia to manage an organic certification and labelling system in New Caledonia. This will allow certified produce sold in New Caledonia to carry the Organic Pasifika label. This is the first time such a Participatory Guarantee System has been set up in the Pacific region.

The Organic Pasifika label is a guarantee that the products meet the Pacific Organic Standard, developed by the Pacific Organic and Ethical Trade Community (POETCom). SPC acts as the secretariat for POETCom and is the custodian of the Organic Pasifika label.

SPC Director-General Dr Jimmie Rodgers noted that the certified products would meet standards equivalent to those of the European Union, and that once a system of third party certification was in place they would be eligible for export to Europe.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Jean-Louis D’Anglebermes, Member of the Government of New Caledonia, noted that in addition to the benefits stemming from regulations on pesticide use and environmental impact, organic fruits and vegetables were better tasting than their non-organic counterparts.

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Forests for People

International Year of Forests - 2011

by Vinesh Prasad, LRD Information Assistant

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FORESTS ARE VITAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF THE PEOPLE IN THE PACIFIC

“Forests for People”

Celebrating the central role of people in the sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of our world’s forests.

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

he Land Resources Division (LRD) have activities planned in 2011 to observe the International Year of the Forests 2011 by creating awareness on the important role that forests and trees play in the livelihood of the people of the Pacific region.

The UN General Assembly has declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests and with the theme, Forests for People. The theme is aptly coined to celebrate the central role of people in the sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of the world’s forests.

Forests provide shelter to people and habitat to biodiversity; are a source of food, medicine, clean water, and play a vital role in maintaining a stable global climate and environment.

All these elements taken together reinforce the message that forests are vital to the survival and well being of the seven billion people on earth.

Forests cover one third (1/3) of the earth’s land surface and harbor three quarters (3/4) of its terrestrial biodiversity, and account for almost half (1/2) of its carbon pool.

Mr Sairusi Bulai, Coordinator, Forests and Trees and Forestry and Agriculture Diversification Thematic Group said, “forests and trees have provided and continue to provide vital products and services which contribute to the wellbeing of our people.”

“These include wood for buildings, fuelwood, food, medicines, cultural uses, supporting livelihoods and economic development (exports, employment, etc); ecosystem services – soil protection, water protection, carbon sink/sequestration; biodiversity. These have contributed to the resilience of our communities in the face of past natural disasters like cyclones, droughts, floods, etc.”

“Despite these, forests continue to be lost and also severely degraded due to agriculture expansion, other manmade developments, and in some of our countries, unsustainable timber harvesting. It is estimated that about 350 square kilometres are lost on a daily basis worldwide, which is equivalent to the land areas of Niue, Nauru, Pitcairn, Tokelau and Tuvalu put together.” Bulai said.

He added that we just have to see the increasing bare, degraded and fire prone landscapes that are becoming

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common sites in most of our countries to realise that something is drastically wrong with what we have been doing to our forests.

“We are becoming more and more dependent on less and less forests, especially high conservation value natural forests, to provide us with the products and services that we desperately need in the face of increasing populations and the impacts of climate change.”

Therefore, he suggested that all should start with managing existing natural forests in a sustainable manner, and also looking at rehabilitating and restoring some of our degraded damaged forests supplemented by reforestation, afforestation and agroforestry, to improve the supply and quality of products and services from our forest and tree resources and at the same time enhancing our capacity to better cope with the impacts of climate change.

Some of the planned activities to commemorate the international year of the forests include; • media forums • launching of book on Pacific forests • public lectures, and • two (2) awards to be presented at the next Heads of Forestry (HOFs) meeting in 2011.

Forests have contributed to the resilience of our communities in the face of past natural disasters like cyclones, droughts, and floods.

Despite these, forests continue to be lost and also severely degraded due to agriculture expansion, other man-made developments, and in some of our countries, unsustainable timber harvesting.....

Mr Sairusi Bulai (above), Adviser, Forests and Trees, LRD.

Solomon Islands delegation contributes to Fiji’s 1m tree campaign

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olomon Islands delegation to the Fourth Heads of Agriculture and Forestry Services (HOAFS) meeting in Fiji contributed to the host country’s One Million Tree Planting Campaign.

Undersecretary Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL) Mr John Harunari (above, right) and Commissioner of Forestry Mr Reeves Moveni (above, left) were among 30 HOAFS officials that planted 500 trees at a watershed in the outskirts of Nadi Thursday 16th September 2010.

The HOAFS field saw delegates, observers and staff from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) planted trees at a flood mitigation dam in Namulomulo.

The five native plants planted at the dam site were; Vesiwai (Milletia pinnata), Tavola (Terminalia capitanea), Drala (Erythrina variegate), Bitu (Bamboo spp) and Pine (Pinus caribea).

The planting was a regional contribution to the Namulomulo Watershed Management Project and the ‘One Million Tree Planting Campaign April 2010 – April 2011.’

The Namulomulo Watershed Project was initiated by the Fiji Government through its Ministry of Primary Industries and supported by SPC.

It aims to ensure sustainable use of land, forest, wildlife and agriculture; increase water yield and maintain water quality.

The project also aims to regulate the stream flow and excessive run off and reduce flood damage.

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Mitigating soil erosion and other harmful degradation process and optimise the use of surplus water for social and economic growths are also the objectives of the project.

“In a nutshell the Namulomulo dam project is to prevent flood as the river is one of many that flows through Nadi Township,” said an official from the Fiji Ministry of Forestry.

In early 2009, Nadi town was under water when all the rivers were flooded and overflowed into the lower plains.

Currently Nadi and the western parts of Fiji are in drought and had never been raining for a couple of months or so.

Thus the planting of trees by HOAFS participants, observers and SPC staff last week was timely not only to ensure flood mitigation but that of soil erosion and also increasing water yield and quality.

Mr Harunari said he is happy to have contributed by planting 10 trees whilst Mr Moveni planted a row with each five native Fijian plants.

Despite contributing only 0.05 percent of the total one million target, the planting was seen as HOAFS ‘GIFT’ to the future generation of Fiji Islands - GIFT being an acronym for Go and invest in Forest and Trees.

The ‘One Million Tree Planting Campaign’ is the initiative of Fiji’s Ministry for Primary Industries to fulfill the global objective of reversing loss of forest cover through sustainable forest management, protection, restoration, reforestation and prevent degradation.

(Report by Priestley Habru, Island Sun)

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Climate change, forestry and crown-of-thorns starfish

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anuatu’s climate is changing, and even if the major greenhouse gas emitting countries stop putting CO2 in the atmosphere tomorrow, Vanuatu’s climate will continue to change for at least the next 50 to one hundred years.

Scientists predict that the climatic changes in Vanuatu include increased temperature, sea level rise and variable rainfall (more droughts and more periods of floods); which in turn means loss of agricultural productivity and changes to the traditional planting and harvesting calendars, disease and reduced growth of livestock, increased incidence of disease in people, lack of water for human consumption, coastal erosion and other impacts.

Rather than sit back and wait for these changes to occur, some communities in Vanuatu, like the people of Pele Island (North Efate) are taking measures now to deal with and adapt to climate change.

Adapting to climate change means acting now to minimize the negative impacts of climate change by changing attitudes and behaviour and advance preparation for specific threats like water shortage, higher sea levels or declining agriculture and forestry productivity.

Pele Island is small, has no freshwater source, all 400 residents live within 200 meters of the sea and depend heavily on marine resources for food and income. That makes Pele and its people

especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

In August, 2010, technical officers from the Vanuatu Department of Forests, the National Advisory Committee on Climate Change and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) held a two-day workshop on Pele Island to train residents on forest nursery design, woodlot management, and climate change adaptation options. The outcome of the workshop was the establishment of a forestry association which will build a forest nursery to 1) plant trees to protect soil erosion from hilltops, 2) provide alternative source of income through high value tree species like sandalwood and nangai, 3) propagate and reforest endemic local tree species that have been lost due to development, 4) propagate coastal tree and grass species that will slow or minimize the impacts of sea level rise, and 5) mitigate the impacts of climate change with CO2 absorbing plants and trees.

However, a major problem for the forestry project on Pele is lack of good quality, nutrient rich soil for germinating seeds in the nursery. Buying soil from Vila is expensive and transportation to Pele too difficult. So the Forestry Association decided to take matters into its own hands, and looked to the coral reef to find the fertilizer it needed for the forest nursery: Crown-of-Thorns Starfish.

The Crown of Thorns

Vanuatu has experienced a series of Crown of Thorns outbreaks over the last 20 years, completely eating and killing some of Vanuatu’s most pristine coral reefs. When coral reefs are lost, the fish that people depend on for food and income also decline, making Crown of Thorns one of the most serious problems affecting the coastal villages of Vanuatu. volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

(Acanthaster Planci) is a large starfish and can grow to more than 1 m in diameter.

The entire upper surface of its body is covered in long venomous spines. What makes Crown of Thorns starfish such a problem is that they eat live coral from the reef. Vanuatu has experienced a series of Crown of Thorns outbreaks over the last 20 years, completely eating and killing some of Vanuatu’s most pristine coral reefs. When coral reefs are lost, the fish that people depend on for food and income also decline, making Crown of Thorns one of the most serious problems affecting the coastal villages of Vanuatu.

But because the starfish are so big and plentiful they make great fertilizer when they have decomposed. So the Pele Island Forestry Association in conjunction with the Nguna-Pele Marine Protected Area Network, Oceans Watch and the SPC-GTZ Adaptation to Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region (ACCPIR) organized a Crown of Thorns fertilizer collection competition. The competition’s two categories, individual and group, saw over 60 men, women and chitldren from Pele compete to collect as many Crown of Thorns starfish as possible in a 24 hour period. The Island of Pele made Vanuatu history when the results were tallied and the winners announced. In two days, the people of Pele had collected 5,879 Crown of Thorns starfish from their reefs to turn into fertilizer for the forest climate change project!!!

Not only have the people of Pele obtained a great fertilizer, they have managed to save their reefs from destruction by the coral-eating starfish and adapt to climate change at the same time! While it may be the first time in Vanuatu that an entire island comes together to adapt to climate change it hopefully won’t be the last. Adaptation to climate change is a priority of the Vanuatu Government, and it requires that every person in Vanuatu do something, however small. We don’t have time to waste, the time to adapt to climate change is now!

For more information contact Mr. Brian Phillips, Secretariat of the National Advisory Committee on Climate Change (NACCC) 23866 or Dr. Christopher Bartlett (VanuatuClimateGTZ@gmail.com) or visit http://www.spc.int/lrd/Climate_Change.htm.

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The extended programme will now include Federate States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu and extend its thematic focus to marine resources, sustainable energy management and tourism and climate change.

GTZ announces EUR 14.2 million extended regional programme on coping with climate change in the Pacific

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he German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) has officially announced an extended regional programme – Coping with Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region, which will be funded until 2015.

In making the announcement at the fourth regional meeting of Heads of Agriculture and Forestry Services (HOAFS) in Nadi, Fiji Islands, GTZ Programme Director and Senior Adviser, Dr Hermann Fickinger said that in late 2009 the German government decided to enhance its engagement with the Pacific and pledged additional funds to the regional programme. It has allocated another EUR 10 million to the already existing SPC/GTZ regional programme Adaptation to Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region, bringing the overall German financing to EUR 14.2 million.

‘As a result, the programme will also include Federate States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu and extend its thematic focus to marine resources, sustainable energy management and tourism and climate change,’ Dr Fickinger said.

Under the new programme the focus will be land-based natural resources,

marine resources, tourism, and sustainable energy.

The programme maintains the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) as the primary implementation partner and emphasises strong cooperation with the Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme (SPREP).

The overall objective of the extended programme is to strengthen the capacities of regional organisations in the Pacific Island region and their member states to cope with the adverse effects of and reduce their contribution to climate change.

The extended regional programme will continue the basic multilevel approach being implemented under the current regional project.

‘This means strengthening regional partner institutions at national and subnational levels. Due to insufficient human and financial resources – in both larger countries and small island states – the regional component is a critical element for long term sustainable development. The thematic scope has been widened to include adaptation and mitigation issues,’ Dr Fickinger said.

The existing project has an exclusive focus on land based natural

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resources, and therefore the project has been implemented by SPC’s Land Resources Division in Suva, Fiji Islands.

Land based management will still play a very important role in the extended project.

However, marine based resources and functions of the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) that are being integrated into SPC will be important future components.

The HOAFs meeting heard that over coming decades, climate change will remain one of the key topics in the Pacific at the political level as well as at the community level, and the extended regional programme will continue to strengthen the capacities of Pacific Island countries and regional organisations to better cope with climate change through its significant funding, its long term perspective and its strong partnerships within the region and the respective countries.

Support for assessing climate change impacts in Tonga

by Christine Fung, SPC-GTZ Adaptation to Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region Project

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ustomised software for assessing the effects of climate change was demonstrated to government technical staff in Tonga recently.

The climate modelling software is being provided through the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)/ German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) Programme on Adaptation to Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region (ACCPIR).

A three-day (4–6 October) training session on using the TongaSimCLIM software was held at the Forestry Division in Tongatapu for technical officers from the Ministries of Environment and Climate Change, Agriculture and Food, Forests and Fisheries, Lands, Survey and Natural Resources and the Meteorology Department. The training focused

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....cont’d on pg 8 Land Resources News

The TongaSimCLIM sea-level rise simulation is the only climate impact assessment tool of its kind that accounts for local trends in sea-level rise in combination with vertical land movements, over a period of time, in looking at potential scenarios.

Kolovai coastline....although annual precipitation is projected to increase in Tongatapu as a result of climate change, the dry period is actually expected to get drier.

Sea-level rise is not the most critical concern for the reefs of Tonga, rising sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification are likely to impact on the health and vitality of the fringing reef. volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

on software application to examine and assess impacts of climate variability and change in Tonga.

Participants were also introduced to a customised version of PlantGro 4.0, which can be used to explore possible alternative crops and trees for islands in Tonga. The training was conducted by CLIMsystems, the developer of TongaSimCLIM.

CLIMystems said that the software has been customised for use by Tonga with a local, very high resolution (30 metre), digital elevation model for the islands of Tongatapu, Vava’u, Ha’apai and Niuatoputapu. Also available are other data specifically collected for application in the island kingdom. The high resolution TongaSimCLIM includes 21 general circulation models – tools for generating and analysing various climate change scenarios including extreme weather events and running rainwater tank simulations. The latter showed that although annual precipitation is projected to increase in Tongatapu as a result of climate change, the dry period is actually expected to get drier.

The TongaSimCLIM sea-level rise simulation is the only climate impact assessment tool of its kind that accounts for local trends in sea-level rise in combination with vertical land movements, over a period of time, in looking at potential scenarios. The Tonga tidal station shows a 9.21 mm sea-level rise a year, whilst satellite data records indicate a rise of 6.29 mm a year. This has led to the conclusion that the area around the tidal station is sinking at a rate of 2.92 mm per year. Projections generated under a high climate sensitivity scenario and worse case story line for global greenhouse gas emissions (A1F1) show a possible sea-level rise of 952 mm for Tongatapu by the year 2100. The worst case from the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the world is 590 mm. The fact that the area is slowly sinking worsens the real rate of sea-level rise. It is important to note that this is just one scenario for possible sea-level change and that the data record is not very long.

However, sea-level rise is not the most critical concern for the reefs of Tonga. In a much shorter time period, rising sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification are likely to impact on the health and vitality of the fringing reef. Reef degradation will affect the productivity of coastal fisheries and marine ecosystems.

Deputy Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Forests and Fisheries, Mr Tevita Faka’osi, commended the training saying that it also facilitated better understanding of the science behind climate change.

The SPC/GTZ ACCPIR programme is supporting Tonga in the development of effective land use planning processes, adaptation strategies, and supporting databases to help the land-based sector better cope with climate change.

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We need to reflect on our social structures, and our traditional systems of farming which have a minimal impact on the environment.

We need to embrace these systems developed over generations by our forefathers. The organics movement, for example, is a reflection of our traditional way of life......Mr Anthony Brown, Secretary, Cook Islands Ministry of Agriculture.

Stronger resolve and support from leaders needed to improve farmer livelihood

by Emil Adams, LRD Publications

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acific heads of agriculture and forestry services (HOAFS) met in Nadi (14–17 September) with discussions focusing on the value of agrobiodiversity in addressing food security, climate change and trade challenges.

As the meeting heard, the starting point for taking advantage of Pacific biodiversity is good land use planning, and ensuring that the right crops, trees and livestock breeds are in the right places.

This planning has to be supported by good distribution of planting and breeding material. There is also a need to consider the trade-off between diversity and productivity – high yielding varieties may do well in favourable climatic conditions, but fail when conditions are adverse.

The Secretary of the Cook Islands Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Anthony Brown, emphasised to meeting delegates the need for stronger resolve on the part of heads of agriculture in meeting the challenges faced by the Pacific Islands region and the need to provide support systems to help farmers improve their livelihoods.

‘The region should not take ecosystem services for granted. The Pacific has not suffered from too much intensification of agriculture, unlike other

regions, and we should be mindful of this competitive advantage and not lose it’.

‘We need to reflect on our social structures, and our traditional systems of farming which have a minimal impact on the environment. We need to embrace these systems developed over generations by our forefathers. The organics movement, for example, is a reflection of our traditional way of life,’ said Mr Brown.

Delegates acknowledged the projected impacts of climate change on the ability of countries to ensure food security. In this regard, they called on SPC and other agencies to continue providing support to enhance the resilience of agricultural systems.

The issue of urban drift was also raised as a common concern for Pacific Island countries and territories.

The meeting heard that for smaller atolls, it is not unusual for over 60% of the population to move to the main island where the capital is located.

The resulting concentration of people in one location impacts on food security. In contrast, less populated outer islands may have an abundance of produce but because of transport problems are unable to get it to markets.

Delegates agreed that national governments should build up the services available beyond the main towns, making rural areas more attractive and encouraging young people to stay on the land.

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The issue of young people’s lack of interest in farming or farming-related careers was highlighted and the meeting identified opportunities to address the issue at the school and community level, linking it to the wider issue of promoting and investing in agriculture and forestry development.

More support for local production was stressed as a way to meet increased demands on the food supply.

Delegates noted that national food summits and the Pacific Food Summit had strongly encouraged a ‘go local’ approach but agreed that more education and awareness raising was needed to ensure consumers realised the nutritional value of local foods.

Demonstration farms are being used in a number of countries to promote more biological approaches to agriculture, such as organic practices. The benefits of these farms in helping to change the way people think about food security were noted.

Another regional issue raised at the meeting was the need for better animal health services and for more Pacific Islanders to train as veterinarians or paraveterinarians.

Most Pacific Island representatives expressed concern that not enough trained people were available to provide the livestock health and biosecurity services needed to control zoonotic diseases.

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ICT for development in the Pacific

SPC LRD launches new website

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he ‘Framework for Action on ICT for Development in the Pacific’ (FAIDP) was formulated in response to the call from Pacific Leaders at the 40th Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns (August 2009) for the Pacific Plan Digital Strategy (PPDS) to be reviewed and updated. This direction reaffirmed the continuing importance of ICT as a tool for development in the region and further supports the ICT Ministers’ Wellington Declaration where ICT ministers declared, ‘We recognize that information and communication technologies (ICTs), while not an end in themselves, have a key role as a basis for economic development, while also promoting and enhancing social cohesion, cultural enrichment and environmental conservation’. The ICT Ministers recognized that ‘While the Pacific region faces a number of obstacles to the effective deployment of communications and other infrastructure, we acknowledge that the region also stands to benefit enormously from the effective use of ICTs’.

FAIDP outlined a new approach to developing and improving ICT services to support development and governance and improve the livelihoods of communities in the Pacific region. It acknowledges that national ICT policies and plans and an integrated coordinated approach are the principle means for ICT to contribute meaningfully to sustainable development. FAIDP was endorsed by Pacific Regional ICT Ministers in Tonga, June 2010 and further acknowledged by the Pacific Forum Leaders in their 2010 Vanuatu Communique. e-Agriculture e-Agriculture is the use of ICT to deliver products and services to stakeholders of the Agriculture and Forestry sector.

One of the key initiatives of FAIDP is e-Agriculture (as well as e-Government, e-Health and e-Education). Furthermore, there are a number of FAIDP priorities that are relevant to the Agriculture and Forestry sector including: developing access to rural areas and remote islands,

The Framework for Action on ICT for Development reaffirms the continuing importance of ICT as a tool for development in the region.

websites, telecentre/community knowledge learning centres, financial inclusion programme, and linkages to the Energy sector. Financial inclusion (e.g via mobile phones fund transfer) would also help revitalize rural development.

SPC approaches focused on 2 key areas, one being the use of ICT and collaborative approaches to implement activities focussing on good practices and success stories and the second focusing on the different policies that have an impact on agriculture/forestry activities.

Mobile phones and Knowledge and Learning Community Centres (KLCs) can improve agricultural information sharing and increase the quantity and quality of agricultural information available, improving food production, enhancing food security and eventually enhancing market participation. This could also contribute to more informed policy decisions in PICTs. PNG commented on communications being difficult due to terrain and the use of expensive HF radio had changed to cheaper mobile phones.

The ever changing nature of ICTs meant PICTs had to keep up despite limited resources. SPC said 80% of telecentres fail due to financial constraints, thus a monitoring and evaluation phase in the ICT Framework to address issue of sustainability.

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

The Land Resources Division (LRD) of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) has launched a revamped website.

The launch took place at the fourth regional meeting of Heads of Agriculture and Forestry Services (HOAFS) held in September in Nadi, Fiji Islands.

In launching the website, SPC LRD acting director Inoke Ratukalou (pictured) said the revamped website boasts changes that will make it easier and quicker to access information. The new website allows for a one-stop-shop for content delivery, information and knowledge on agriculture and forestry, climate change, and our working partners.

‘The new website is built using Web 2.0 generation technology which allows for a one-stop-shop format for content delivery, information and knowledge on agriculture and forestry, climate change, and our working partners.

All components contribute to a user friendly website capable of meeting LRD clients’ requirements,’ Mr Ratukalou said.

The LRD website was developed using Joomla, a content management system that facilitates the process of updating the site. “Joomla is a powerful open source content management system with new features such as news flashes, rss feeds, searches and support for multilanguage modules,’’ he said.

The LRD website is also designed to be accessible in the Pacific Island countries and territories, where low bandwidth Internet connections are common.

‘I encourage you all to visit our website and provide feedback in any areas that you feel need improvement.

We look forward to receiving your feedback. You can contact us through our LRD Helpdesk,’ Mr Ratukalou said.

Work on the website was made possible with funding support from German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), one of LRD’s principal partners.

The website can be accessed at: http:// www.spc.int/lrd

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4th HOAFS...frm pg 2

genetic, species and ecosystem levels that are necessary to sustain agricultural production. Basically without agro biodiversity we would have no food.

A close look at the CBD definition highlights the huge role agro biodiversity plays in our lives, and the need to ensure conserving this biodiversity and sustainably using it.

Agriculture occupies more than onethird of the land in most countries of the world, and the Pacific is no exception.

Acting Director of LRD Inoke Ratukalou also echoed similar sentiments and mentioned that assistance to the members’ countries will be aligned with national priorities and agriculture/forestry sector plans.

“LRD have also taken on board issues raised at the Pacific Food Security Summit and will integrate in its activities.”

“We recognise the constraints in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) with resources and technical expertise and hence will support them.”

He also added that there is an urgent need to address production issues of pests and diseases, whilst we address trade and market issues.

The importance of agrobiodiversity is specifically recognised in the SPC LRD Strategic Plan 2009–2012, which includes the call to ‘conserve, develop, promote and utilise agrobiodiversity’. The establishment of the new Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees is evidence of the commitment of SPC to the sustainable conservation and use of agrobiodiversity.

Conservation and management of broad-based genetic diversity has been supporting the improvement of agriculture for 10,000 years. It is this broad base of diversity that has enabled agriculture to sustain increasing populations over the years. At the same time, this diversity has provided resilience within agricultural ecosystems, so they have the capacity to recover from environmental stress and to evolve.

This capacity to evolve has given us the diversity that can be the key to solving pest and disease problems. The sustainable use of agrobiodiversity can support the countries of the Pacific in meeting the challenges of climate change, ensuring food and nutritional security and developing trade.

A recent livestock survey in

Food Secure Pacific Working Group

A

Mr Veni Gaugatao (Forestry Officer, Samoa), and Dr Ken Cokanasiga (Animal Health Specialist, LRD), taking a break from the HOAFS Meeting.

Fiji, Niue, Tonga and Samoa has revealed that there is ample genetic diversity in local pigs and chickens, which will allow researchers to identify some locally adapted breeds that show specific resistance or tolerance to disease, limited feed and water, as well as climate change.

Agrobiodiversity can also make a significant contribution to our health.

The increased consumption of imported foods of poor nutritional quality and the concurrent neglect of traditional food systems has led to escalating rates of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. Growing and consuming the diverse traditional island foods offer an opportunity to improve the nutritional status and health of Pacific communities.

Some Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) have already established national programmes to boost local food production. Examples include the Talomua programme in Samoa, Plant-5-a -Day in Fiji and Go Local in Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

Mass media coverage of issues related to agrobiodiversity has been relatively limited, although the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 has led to increased coverage recently.

Agrobiodiversity is an issue that cuts across a wide range of topics, including preserving island ecosystems, promoting health and addressing climate change impact. Recognition of its role in all of these areas will strengthen media involvement in raising public awareness and political action.

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

multi-agency working group on food security in the Pacific reconvened recently in Suva to address food security issues and concerns in the Pacific. The Food Secure Pacific Working Group, which was established in 2009, met this month to begin implementing the Food Security Regional Framework, which was endorsed by Pacific Islands Forum Leaders at their August 2010 meeting in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

The working group comprises representatives of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It will undertake a mapping exercise to ascertain the current range of interventions that the agencies are undertaking in their work towards food security in the region and map them against the requirements outlined in the Food Security Regional Framework.

‘The group has shifted its focus from developing the strategy and framework on food security to looking at how the framework will be implemented,’ said the working group’s chair, SPC DirectorGeneral Dr Jimmie Rodgers.

Dr Rodgers said that the mapping exercise was crucial. ‘This will identify areas where there may be overlaps and also where there are specific gaps in the region’s response. Based on this analysis, the group will meet again towards the end of October to draw up a 2011 workplan, which may include the need to go out and secure additional resources to help address the gaps,’ Dr Rodgers said.

In the meantime, a number of Pacific Island countries and territories are planning their own national food summits in early 2011, including Papua New Guinea, and Marshall Islands.

For more information please contact Dr Caroline Fusimalohi, SPC Planning Adviser, on carolinet@spc.int or Bill Parr, Director, Social Resources Division, SPC, on billp@spc.int

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Managing pest risks associated with international trade is one of five draft ISPMs requiring the input of Pacific islands. Heads of national quarantine services (seen above, led by Dr Viliami Fakava of LRD, front row, 3rd from left) contributed knowledge and experience to the current phase of the intrernational setting process.

Regional experts review draft ISPMs

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wenty eight experts from 18 Pacific Island countries convened in Nadi, Fiji Islands, 9 - 13 August, 2010, for the 7th Technical Consultation on the Regional Workshop for the Review of Draft International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs), giving Pacific Island countries the opportunity to review those draft ISPMs already in the current consultative phase of the standards setting process. The goal of the training workshop was to assist member countries in developing their comments on the five draft ISPMs: 1. Systems approaches for pest risk management of fruit flies

Aurelie Chan (New Caledonia), Sione Foliaki (Tonga), Dr Russel Campbell (Guam), and Leon Mu (French Polynesia).

2. Submission of new treatments for inclusion in ISPM 15 3. Integrated measures approach for managing pest risks associated with international trade of plants for planting 4. Irradiation treatment of Ceratitis capitata – Annex to ISPM No. 28 5. Diagnostic protocol for plum pox virus

Facilitated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), as the Secretariat of the Pacific Plant Protection Organisation (PPPO), and in collaboration with the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (NZ MAF), the training workshop was an important event in the region, allowing participants to be introduced to the draft ISPMs whilst gaining improved knowledge and understanding of the national and regional impact of these proposed standards, and providing a basis for the development and submission of national comments.

In his opening remarks, the Director of the SPC Land Resources Division (LRD), Mr Inoke Ratukalou stressed the importance of the workshop, noting that it provided the only opportunity and forum for Pacific Island countries to contribute to the IPPC standard setting process. He further highlighted the importance of these draft

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

standards to Pacific Island countries’ trading operations.

IPPC Secretariat representative, Ms Joanna Hamilton presented an overview of IPPC, ISPMs and the standard setting process, which assisted participants in the compilation of comments on the draft standards. The five draft ISPMs were reviewed and comments were placed directly into the comments templates. Participants were also invited to take note of the comments and utilise them as appropriate in the preparation of their national comments for submission to the IPPC Secretariat.

Ms Hamilton also presented the guidelines to implementation of phytosanitary standards in forestry, which are currently under development, as an introduction to the participants regarding the need for improved communication between forestry and biosecurity officials.

Whilst the main thrust of the meeting was technical consultation training for the five draft ISPMs, participants were also presented a summary of the June Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) Bureau meeting by Dr John Hedley of NZ MAF. Dr Hedley highlighted work in the areas of resource mobilisation, the communications strategy, the capacity building programme and the development of a strategic framework.

SPC Biosecurity Trade Facilitation Officer, Mr Roy Masamdu also presented the results of the Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation (PCE) tool for the 13 countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Palau, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Fiji Islands.

The participants took time to visit the high temperature forced air (HTFA) facility at Nature’s Way in Nadi and timber treatment facilities at Fiji Hardwood and Tropic Wood Industry in Lautoka. They also visited the sites of activities undertaken by Operation Kadivuka – an operation to eradicate the Asian subterranean termite Coptotermes gestroi which is ongoing in the Lautoka area.

Participants were issued copies of the templates in addition to workshop comments for each of the draft ISPMs on discussion to assist national plant protection offices in compiling their national comments for submission to the IPPC Secretariat.

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Land Resources News

FACT Awards

contributor nominated in their category.

The awards are designed to recognise outstanding achievers for their creativity and hard work in the region and provided an ideal way to support and promote those involved in agriculture and forestry.

The five award categories and their respective winners were: • SPC EU FACT New Exporter Award – a Pacific person selected for developing an outstanding new agricultural export business or new product/market –Ms Sharmayne Ryan (PNG).

The Facilitating Agricultural Commodity Trade (EU-FACT) project of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Land Resources Division presented awards to five individuals in the Pacific for their outstanding contribution towards trade and value adding in agricultural and forestry products.

by Vinesh Prasad, LRD Information Assistant

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he EU-FACT project, which began in May 2008, aims to assist selected commercial ventures and producer groups in export-oriented, marketdriven enterprises that will consistently supply overseas markets with competitive agricultural and forestry products. FACT is funded by the European Union under the 9th European Development Fund (EDF 9).

Ms Sharmayne Ryan (below) from Amruqa (or Follywell No 6 Ltd), in Papua New Guinea (PNG), won the New Exporter Award. She accepted the award on behalf of all the company’s employees and the people of PNG. She won the award for her innovative work with the Komgi community and marketing and exporting cardamom oil and other commodities to New Zealand, Japan and Europe.

Ms Louise Rodan, winner

Ms Louise Rodan, winner of the Pacific Women in Agricultural Export Business award, works for Balthan (Western) Ltd in its Suva office. She is responsible for ensuring quality control and new product development such as blanched ota (fern).

of the Pacific Women in Agricultural Export Business award, dedicated her award to the women of Fiji. ‘These humble womenfolk in the rural areas work tirelessly to make a dollar or two to support their family,’ she said. Ms Rodan works for Balthan (Western) Ltd in its Suva office and is responsible for ensuring quality control and meeting overseas demand, and new product development such as blanched ota (fern).

Mr Gary Tarte, from Wainiyaku Estate in Taveuni (Northern Fiji) was the winner of the Pacific Farmer Award.

‘I come from the coconut industry, which was in a worn-out state for many years, and I have just started exploring opportunities for value adding utilising new technology. The solution for farmers to make profit is by value adding and building up a customer base through direct sales and niche markets,’ Mr Tarte said. Apart from producing virgin coconut oil, he raises his own cattle under coconut trees, owns a licensed slaughter house and sells retail meat through his own butchery. By- products derived from the production of virgin coconut oil are used to generate an alternative supply of electricity, powering elements of their production chain. Wainiyaku Estate is organically certified and is currently being assisted by the FACT project to become Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) certified.

Each winner received a certificate and EUR 500 for being recognized as the best Pacific exporter

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

• SPC EU FACT Women in Agricultural Export Business Award – a Pacific woman recognised for her contribution to agricultural or agroforestry exports from the Pacific Islands – Ms Louise Rodan (Fiji Islands).

• SPC EU FACT Pacific Farmer Award – a Pacific person selected for consistently supplying high-quality produce for export – Mr Gary Tarte (Fiji Islands).

• SPC EU FACT Value-added Timber Exporter Award – a Pacific person selected for his/her efforts to develop new value-added timber products for export – Mr Holland Siloko (Solomon Islands).

• SPC EU FACT Agroforestry Exporter Award – a Pacific person selected for his/her efforts to develop agroforestry plantings, systems and products for export – Mr Jasper Maike Bonie (Solomon Islands).

FACT is also supporting the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification, a food safety process, which is now one of the requirements demanded by the market.

FACT’s activities are governed by a technical advisory group comprising five experts from the private sector, the University of the South Pacific, and the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commission.

FACT complements efforts aimed at enhancing regional cooperation and integration. This includes the policy commitment of the European Union under the Cotonou Agreement to facilitate the integration of Pacific members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) into regional and global economies.

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Land Resources News

Evaluating banana varieties on Kirimati Atoll

by Ms Mamarau Kairirieta (lone extension officer on Kirimati atoll).

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he sharing of diverse crop germplasm amongst the islands of the Pacific allows a range of genetic material to be introduced and evaluated under local conditions.

The ultimate aim is to allow new robust varieties to develop and become established as staple food crops in the new environment. A diversity of staple food crops can help address national food security and field a strong challenge to impacts of climate change.

The SPC Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) actively conserve and share plant genetic material of major Pacific crops for evaluation under local conditions. Several such crop diversity evaluations are underway in the Pacific.

One of them is the evaluation of different banana varieties on Kirimati island in Kiribati.

Kiritimati island is one of the islands in the Northern Line Islands of the Republic of Kiribati. Twenty banana accessions from CePaCT were distributed in 2009 for evaluation. The 264 plantlets were nurtured by the Ministry of Environment, Land and Development in the nurseries before they were distributed to 54 households on four villages namely Ronton, Tabakea, Banana and Poland.

The lone extension officer on the island, Ms Mamarau Kairirieta is the field officer responsible for the distribution and monitoring of the banana accessions.

Evaluation and Recommended Varieties Fourteen accessions survived out of 20 for evaluation by the 54 households. There were 264 plantlets from the 14 accessions that were distributed to households. From the household evaluations, ten accessions received good ratings based on eating qualities and marketability.

The ten accessions are Daru, Dwarf Cavendish, Dwarf French Plantain, High Noon, Pisang Gajh Merah, Pisang Lilin, Robusta, Saba, FHIA 01 and FHIA 23. It was reported that these accessions had robust growth and produced good bunches.

The Daru variety produced the highest average number of suckers per plant at six. Saba and Fhia 23 accessions each averaged five suckers, with High Noon and Dwarf Cavendish averaging four suckers per plant; Fhia 25 and FHIA 01 produced the least number of suckers.

The suckering ability for each accession provides more planting material to households.

Farmers make compost using rotten coconut trunk and husk, fish waste, dead leaves, green manure, rusty tin cans, chopped banana leaves, sandy soil and pig manure. Compost is applied to all banana varieties. The compost helped improve plant growth.

Spiraling white fly is the only pest reported from the banana accessions Daru, High Noon, Pisang Gajh Merah, and Robusta. For pest control farmers reported spraying soapy water and picking by hand.

Daru....Ronton village.

Saba....Ronton village.

Dwarf French Plantain....Ronton village.

Pisang Lilin....Ronton village.

A visit to Kirimati atoll from officials of the Ministry of Environment, Land and Development gave them the opportunity to sample a variety of fresh produce grown sucessfully on the atoll. Ms Mamarau Kairirieta is the extension officer working closely with SPC on banana variety household evaluations. SPC also gave a range of vegetable seeds for household evaluations. volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

The eight recommended varieties from the household evaluations highlight the community participatory nature of the selection process. This ensures ownership and sustainability of food and nutritional security on the island giving the farmers more tools at their disposal to adapt to adverse climatic conditions.

It is also important to document as much information as possible from these atoll countries as a basis to record best practices on adaptable varieties for other atoll countries.

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Land Resources News

Vanuatu Yam Festival a celebration of the UN International Year of Biodiversity

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he UN International Year of Biodiversity was celebrated in Vanuatu with the launching of the Yam Festival at Luganville, Santo on the 19th of August 2010. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and the Vanuatu Agriculture Research and Technical Centre (VARTC) hosted the two-day Yam Festival aimed to promote the cultivation, marketing and the consumption of yams (Dioscorea spp.). The national event addresses current global issues of “climate change, food security, and trade” as advocated by the UN declaration theme for this year 2010.

Over 30 farmers from Santo and the surrounding islands of SANMA Province participated in the first ever Yam Festival. The event received funding from the Vanuatu Government, Secretarat of the Pacific Commnity (SPC), and the private sector.

More than 30 different cultivars of yams were on display representing all six yam species’ Dioscorea alata, D. transversa, D. nummularia, D. cayenensis-rotundata, D. esculenta and D. bulbifera.

It is estimated over five tons of tubers were on display and all were sold during the festival.

The festival provided the opportunity for the collaborating organizations to deliver technical information on yam cultivation, propagation and improved fallow techniques. Awareness on agribusiness in forestry and animal husbandry including cattle and poultry were also covered by the Forestry Department, VARTC and the Farmers Support Association.

Many other activities took place during the event including awareness on food security, school competitions on best poems and speeches related to the social value of yams in Vanuatu, cooking competition on innovative new yam preparations and recipes and, finally, yam eating competitions for the children and the general public.

Farmers and the general public in Santo have welcomed the Yam Festival because of its significance in reviving the traditional yam feast that was historically organized each year to celebrate the new yam harvest. In Santo, the festival has given the opportunity to the urban population to buy yams at very affordable prices as compared to the local markets. The local demand was very high with farmers selling all their yams within two hours after the opening of the sale.

The Director of DARD declared the Yam Festival a success and is willing to have another Yam Festival organized in the coming years to Over 50 yam accessions have already been sent to the Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) at SPC in Fiji in the past years to support the sustainable conservation and use of agrobiodiversity in the region.

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

strengthen farmers’ incentive to increase production for the urban markets.

VARTC took the opportunity to distribute recommended cultivars and new varieties of yams from their national germplasm collection and root crop improvement program.

The SPC Regional Media Centre attended the Yam Festival and recorded interviews and footage for a DVD to commemorate this very special occasion. The DVD will be available from the LRD Genetic Resources Programme later in the year.

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Land Resources News

a participatory approach. The initial breeding took place onstation at USPs Alafua Campus, led by taro breeder Mr Tolo Iosefa, while the actual selection was carried out by Samoan farmers. It is these farmer-selected cultivars that are finding their way to the supermarket shelves in New Zealand.

In addition, some of these choice cultivars combine the genes of Pacific taro and those of Asian taro, made available to the Taro Improvement Programme and the farmers of Samoa by the SPC Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT), which sent taro cultivars from a collection established with EU funding under the TANSAO (The Taro Network for South East Asia and Oceania) project.

Preliminary evaluation of these cultivars by farmers yielded a few selections which were included in the breeding programme.

Presently, the breeding programme in Samoa is still active. Once AusAID funding ceased, SPC continued to support the programme and, recently, it has been expanded to screen beyond taro leaf blight resistance and to look for climate-ready traits, such as drought tolerance.

The revival of the taro industry in Samoa, culminating in renewed taro exports, shows the benefits of genetic diversity in addressing serious disease. It also highlights the importance of using a participatory approach to both varietal selection and breeding, allowing farmers who have practised crop improvement for years to continue to have a major role in selecting preferred varieties according to taste and marketability. Finally, it highlights the impacts of donorfunded projects long after donor funding has ceased, and perhaps makes a case for sustained funding of projects of a specific nature, such as crop improvement.

Mr Tolo Iosefa, USP-based taro breeder and Manager, Taro Improvement Project (TIP), and Dr Mary Taylor, CePaCT Manager, survey a plot of new taro cultivars. The revival of the taro industry in Samoa, culminating in renewed taro exports, shows the benefits of genetic diversity in addressing a serious disease. TIP farmers participated in varietal selection of taro.

Crop diversity helps restore Samoa taro exports

by Dr Mary Taylor, Manager, CePaCT

I

t is timely and fitting that, in this International Year of Biodiversity, Samoan taro is again making its way back to the fresh produce section of major New Zealand supermarkets after a lapse of some fifteen years. The revival of taro in Samoa has been made possible through the use of genetic diversity — the only sustainable solution to addressing taro leaf blight, which devastated taro cultivation in the early 1990s in Samoa.

In response to the taro leaf blight problem and also in an effort to address the genetic erosion of taro genetic diversity, AusAID supported the Taro Genetic Resources: Conservation and Utilization (TaroGen) project. One component of this project was the Samoa breeding programme, known as the Taro Improvement Programme, the aim of which was to breed for taro leaf blight resistance. This programme was of particular interest because it used

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

Cleaner pathways for export taro Taro is an important source of revenue for many households in Fiji and some Pacific Islands and it is therefore important to maintain its market and ensure product quality, and volume in order to remain competitive with other exporters.

In realizing the essence taro and other crops have on the livelihoods of Pacific Islanders, the ACIAR funded project engaged the Biosecurity & Trade Support Section of SPC LRD to implement the 6 months small research activity project effective July 2010.

In August, the Biosecurity Trade Facilitation Officer, Roy Masamdu with a post graduate School of Agriculture Student, Viliame Ratoto undertook the first field visitation to Taveuni Island to: • study the export commodity pathway for fresh taro to • identify areas for improvement in the export pathway to minimize non conformance • identify opportunities for research that would improve the export commodity pathway and • familiarize with the fresh taro production and marketing system The team also visited production sites, buying points and reviewed handling, grading, packing, storage and transportation procedures of fresh Taro from Taveuni to Suva. The time taken from harvesting and processing to shipping of taro consignments to Australia was also reviewed with critical control points.

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Land Resources News

Pacific islands’ project to conserve crops at risk

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rop specialists across the Pacific have launched a project to conserve the indigenous diversity of foods critical to combating dietary health problems.

Manager of the Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT), Mary Taylor, at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) said the project would involve the conservation of 1,000 crop varieties unique to the Pacific. The project is a response to concerns about indigenous crops being abandoned in favour of higher-yielding imported varieties.

The characteristics of all crops will be documented and duplicate plants will be stored at the CePaCT labatory for safekeeping.

“Crop collections in the Pacific are very vulnerable; all they need is a disease outbreak or a cyclone to destroy the entire collection,” said Ms Taylor.

“These collections are essential if we are going to maintain traditional Pacific crops for future generations.”

Root crops and starchy fruits such as taro, yam, sweet potato and cooking banana make up the staple foods of the Pacific region, which includes 22 countries across 7,500 islands.

Crops at risk in the region include the orange-and yellow-fleshed Fe’i banana, which offer a source of betacarotene; the precursor for vitamin A, and the Giant Swamp Taro; the main crop on the Atoll Islands; and a coconut that grows to half a metre in length are among the native crop species to be saved in the project.

The crops also hold valuable genetic diversity that could be used to breed or engineer crops that can cope with harsh conditions, according to the Global Crop Diversity Trust, which is supporting the project.

Unlike the ‘doomsday’ seedbanks, such as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which aim to preserve seeds in case of a catastrophe, the CePaCT bank will be available to farmers and researchers aiming to produce new varieties.

But because many of the crops reproduce asexually — producing clones, rather than reproducing through seeds — the banking process is far from simple.

The shoot tips of plants are grown in the laboratory in small glass tubes. Once they reach the ideal size, they are subcultured to produce more plants.

“In all the countries we work in, farmers have access to the material we distribute,” said Taylor. However, she emphasised that the programme’s success depended on community support for the cultivation of local crops.

Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust Cary Fowler said preserving existing crops on the islands could also help communities develop new, stronger crops in the future.

“These unique crop varieties are so important in the Pacific,” said Mr Fowler.

“In addition to having valuable nutritional traits, unique Pacific crops provide the key to developing crops in the future that can potentially deal with harsh island environments.

“It is essential that they are well conserved.”

Pacific crops have not really spread to other countries, so they provide a lot of untapped potential that will never be discovered if totally lost.

The Pacific territories involved in the project are the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

The Pacific foods conservation project is coordinated by the SPC CePaCT as part of a global effort coordinated by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to conserve crop species worldwide. ..Food Magazine.

Crops at risk in the region include the orange-and yellow-fleshed Fe’i banana, the Giant Swamp Taro; and a coconut that grows to half a metre in length (niu afa, above).

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

Declining productivity not linked to climate change

by Emil Adams, LRD Publications

C

limate change is often considered to be the main culprit behind many environmental problems, including poor agricultural productivity, but there are other clearly identifiable, non-climate change factors contributing to low agricultural yields.

During the meeting of the 4th Heads of Agriculture and Forestry Services (held 14–17 September, in Nadi, Fiji), Dr Siosiua Halavatau of SPC’s Land Resources Division made a presentation on non-climate change and climate change factors contributing to low agricultural productivity in the Pacific Islands, with a special focus on atoll agriculture development. (The theme of the 4th Heads of Agriculture and Forestry Services meeting was ‘Agrobiodiversity, addressing climate change, food security and trade’.)

Dr Halavatau said soil degradation is one main non-climate change factor contributing to low agricultural productivity. Another is unsustainable farming practices — such as hillside farming — causing soil erosion and loss of top soil. Degraded soils are in poor condition, lack nutrients and starve plants of proper food, resulting in poor crop yields.

Pests and diseases have a negative impact on agricultural productivity. In the Pacific the management of pests and diseases is ranked a high priority as a major challenge to agriculture. In the Pacific the demise of the Samoa taro industry in the mid-1990s was caused by an introduced fungal disease; in Fiji, taro beetle damage accounts for up to 40% of post-harvest losses of export taro; on Butaritari Atoll in Kiribati, a breadfruit anthracnose disease is affecting the yield of this important staple food crop; and, on some Pacific Islands, kava dieback disease has severely reduced kava production.

Dr Halavatau said that a loss of

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....cont’d on pg 18 Land Resources News

DECLINING PRODUCTIVITY

biodiversity also contributes to declining productivity, and occurs when we select for only a few varieties of food crops, thereby diminishing the genetic base and broader productivity. Erosion of traditional knowledge in food production, preparation and preservation also contributes to low productivity.

Agricultural production is also linked to trade and marketing. When farmers are presented with trade opportunities they become motivated to plant more crops, leading to increased agricultural productivity. As an example, on Beru Atoll in Kiribati a pilot study to promote sweet potato production for export to a ready market in South Tarawa (as an alternative to rice) was initiated. Shipping problems, however, prevented the export of sweet potato to South Tarawa once the crop was harvested. So here we have a situation where food became abundant on an outer island with fewer people, but a food security threat experienced on the more populated main island.

Dr Halavatau said that a combined non-climate change and climate change factors present a double blow to agriculture productivity. Case in point is water availability. Where there is too much water flooding occurs and crops are affected; similarly where there is not enough water drought occurs and crops fail.

When local food production declines there is a corresponding increase dependence on imported food, said Dr Halavatau. The resultant changed in diets of Pacific islands with the shift to less nutritious, refined and processed foods has become a concern. The Pacific region is now seeing increasing incidences of lifestyle diseases associated with the consumption of imported food.

In his presentation, Dr Halavatau also discussed some proven sustainable practices that can help counter decreasing land productivity. One such practice is to improve the condition of the soil using compost. Compositing recycles nutrients back to the soil. It is a common farming practice on atolls where the soil is poor.

On larger islands, the nitrogen-fixing groundcover legume Mucunna is grown to help improve the soil. Mucunna is increasingly being used as fallow in crop rotation systems to allow the soil to regain back its nutrients.

Dr Halavatau pointed out that contour farming is a recommended good farming practice for steep land agriculture. The contour planting of vetiver grass on hillsides will prevent soil erosion and maintain the top soil.

Sustainable farming practices including contour farming, will contribute to maintaining productivity from sloping lands.

Agricultural productivity is also affected by crop varieties. High yielding and adaptable varieties of sweet potato, taro, banana and cassava are now available to the region from the Centre for Pacific Agriculture Crops and Trees. Some of these varieties have been distributed to the atolls and the larger islands to evaluate their effectiveness under varying growing conditions.

Water availability is critical to plant growth, and to land productivity.

Water can now be managed in ways to improve availability to plants. The bucket irrigation system, developed under the DSAP Project is one such method where water is conserved and distributed directly to plants. Bucket irrigation is recommended practice for dryland areas.

There are now available natural absorbent media that doubles in size when water

Declining local food production corresponds to increase dependence on imported food with the shift in Pacific diets to less nutritious, refined and processed foods. volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

is added allowing more water to become available to plants.

Maintaining the integrity of the soil is essential to obtaining good crop yields.

Using natural plant derived pesticides to control pests also contributes to improving the condition of the soil. Derris, neem extract, and chili can be sprayed on food crops to repel insect pests. Aromatic plants grown around crops help repel insects as well. The use of organic pesticides in farming is beneficial to the soil’s diversity of microbes.

Dr Halavatau said agribusiness development also contributes to improving agricultural productivity. On Butaritari atoll, production of root crops has increased with a steady market outlet on the main island of Tarawa. Under the SPC-EU Facilitating Agricultural Trade Commodity project, breadfruit processing is adding value and increasing production from this important crop.

Activities that specifically address declining agricultural productivity on atolls are the focus of efforts of the Centre of Excellence for Atoll Agriculture Research and Development in South Tarawa, Kiribati. Established in July 2008 as a direct output of the 2006 Heads of Agriculture and Forestry Services meeting, the Centre’s objective is to develop technologies to improve agriculture on atolls. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has helped provide funds, with SPC’s Land Resources Division providing technical advice. The Centre hopes to draw more researchers from around the region and in partnership with the international community to conduct studies on atoll agriculture. An atoll agricultural conference held at the Centre in April 2010 drew an international audience of researchers and donor partners to map the way forward for atoll agriculture. The conference communiqué acknowledged the special challenges faced by atolls including poor soils, climate change and rising sea level, and advocated an integrated, multi-sectoral approach. Special mention was made of traditional agricultural knowledge and practices to help improve resilience to these environmental changes. The conference was supported by IFAD, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and SPC. Key development partners included the University of the South Pacific, Taiwan Technical Mission, World Vegetable Centre, and the UN Development Programme.

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The fe’i banana....a rich source of provitamin A carotenoid.

Musa spp. ß-carotene: <1 - 8 500 µg Vitamin C: <1 - 20 mg Riboflavin: <1- 14 mg Potassium: 240 - 370 mg PHOTOS: KP Studios,

KP Studios, Lois Englberger

TARO Four common genera, hundreds of species, more than 1 000 varieties Colocasia esculenta Cyrtosperma chamissonis ß-carotene: 15 - 4 500 µg Vitamin C: 5 - 8.5 mg Iron: 0.6 - 3.6 mg Zinc: 0.8 - 63 mg PHOTOS: KP Studios

COCONUT FLESH (mature) One species, more than 180 varieties Cocos nucifera Protein: 3 - 4 g Fat: 27 - 40 g Vitamin C: 2 - 7 mg Iron: 1 - 2.5 mg PHOTOS: KP Studios

WRASSE More than 1 000 species and sub-species Hemigymnus melapterus (Blackeye Thicklip Wrasse) Protein: 17 - 50 g Niacin: 3 - 20 mg n-3 fatty acids: 0.1 - 3.0 g

PHOTOS: H.V. Kuhnlein,

KP Studios, KP Studios

BREADFRUIT Three species, more than 280 varieties Artocarpus altilis (unseeded); A. mariannensis (seeded) ß-carotene: 8 - 940 µg Vitamin C: 21 - 34 mg Iron: 0.2 - 1.4 mg Potassium: 325 - 440 mg PHOTOS: H.V. Kuhnlein,

KP Studios, H.V. Kuhnlein

GREENS Hundreds of species, thousands of edible varieties Ipomoea aquatica (kangkong) Abelmoschus manihot (edible hibiscus) ß-carotene : 500 - 12 000 µg Vitamin C: 3 - 130 mg Calcium: 20 - 600 mg

PHOTOS: KP Studios

PANDANUS FRUIT Four species, more than 180 edible varieties Pandanus tectorius ß-carotene: 14 - 1 000 µg Iron: 0.4 mg Vitamin C: 5 - 10 mg

PHOTOS: KP Studios

All values are per 100 g of food item. © H.V. Kuhnlein and L. Englberger 2006. Poster design © 2006 Helen Cohen Rimmer, HCR Photo

2nd INTERNATIONAL DECADE OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

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he Island Food Community of Pohnpei (IFCP) participated in the international scientific symposium, Biodiversity and Sustainable Diets: United Against Hunger. The symposium was held at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy, 3 to 5 November, 2010, and organized jointly by FAO and Bioversity International.

The purpose of the symposium was to mainstream biodiversity and nutrition as central to sustainable diets development.

Recommendations were made on how a concept could be promoted and applied and identifying key elements for a Code of Conduct for Sustainable Diets. FAO also took the opportunity to promote the on-line petition www.1billionhungry.org to create awareness on ways to more effectively address hunger issues.

Over 170 participants from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Oceania took part in this event, which was part of the 2010 World Food Day program and supported the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.

It is significant for Pohnpei that Dr. Barbara Burlingame of FAO, one of the symposium organizers, cared to mention Pohnpei’s work on identifying banana varieties rich in provitamin A

BANANA Several species, more than 480 varieties

CELEBRATE DIVERSITY IN PACIFIC ISLAND INDIGENOUS FOOD

by Dr Lois Englberger, Director Island Food Community of Pohnpei.

Exceptional nutritional value ~ Taste ~ Economical ~ Available ~ Cultural

Go Local Micronesia at international symposium

carotenoids in her opening presentation. Not only that, she showed the Pohnpei Bananas and Carotenoid-rich Foods Posters, as important pieces in the work related to biodiversity for food and nutrition.

Dr. Lois Englberger, IFCP Director, gave a presentation titled, Revisiting the Vitamin A Fiasco: Going Local in Micronesia, which highlighted the food composition work on Karat, Utin Lap and other banana varieties, as well as varieties of giant swamp taro, breadfruit (seeded), and pandanus, all rich in provitamin A carotenoids. These foods can be promoted to alleviate vitamin A deficiency, anemia, cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

The Pacific Indigenous Foods poster featuring photos of Pohnpei foods, people and places, was a major highlight at the meeting. It was displayed at the reception area and copies made available to all participants.

Participants received a copy of the “Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems” book produced by FAO and the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE), in which case studies of a global health study were presented, including that of Pohnpei, FSM (Chapter Six). The efforts for this book were led by Professor Harriet Kuhnlein, who visited Pohnpei twice as part of the Pohnpei case study work.

FAO and Biodiversity International are acknowledged for their support in hosting the Symposium.

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

Regional experts meet to review draft ISPMs

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wenty eight experts from 18 Pacific Island countries convened 9-13 August, 2010, in Nadi, Fiji Islands for the 7th Technical Consultation on the Review of Draft International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs), giving Pacific Island countries the opportunity to review those draft ISPMs already in the current consultative phase of the standards setting process. The goal of the training workshop was to assist member countries in developing their comments on the five draft ISPMs: . Systems approaches for pest risk management of fruit flies . Submission of new treatments for inclusion in ISPM 15 . Integrated measures approach for managing pest risks associated with international trade of plants for planting . Irradiation treatment of Ceratitis capitata – Annex to ISPM No. 28 . Diagnostic protocol for plum pox virus Facilitated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), as the Secretariat of the Pacific Plant Protection Organisation (PPPO), and in collaboration with the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (NZ MAF), the training workshop was an important event in the region, allowing participants to be introduced to the draft ISPMs whilst gaining improved knowledge and understanding of the national and regional impact of these proposed standards, and providing a basis for the development and submission of national comments.

In his opening remarks, the Director of the SPC Land Resources Division (LRD), Mr Inoke Ratukalou stressed the importance of the workshop, noting that it provided the only opportunity and forum for Pacific Island countries to contribute to the IPPC standard setting process. He further highlighted the importance of these draft standards to Pacific Island countries’ trading operations.

IPPC Secretariat representative, Ms Joanna Hamilton presented an ....cont’d on pg 20

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ISPM...from pg 19 overview of IPPC, ISPMs and the standard setting process, which assisted participants in the compilation of comments on the draft standards. The five draft ISPMs were reviewed and comments were placed directly into the comments templates. Participants were also invited to take note of the comments and utilise them as appropriate in the preparation of their national comments for submission to the IPPC Secretariat. . Ms Hamilton also presented the guidelines to implementation of phytosanitary standards in forestry, which are currently under development, as an introduction to the participants regarding the need for improved communication between forestry and biosecurity officials.

Whilst the main thrust of the meeting was technical consultation training for the five draft ISPMs, participants were also presented a summary of the June Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) Bureau meeting by Dr John Hedley of NZ MAF. Dr Hedley highlighted work in the areas of resource mobilisation, the communications strategy, the capacity building programme and the development of a strategic framework.

SPC Biosecurity Trade Facilitation Officer, Mr Roy Masamdu also presented the results of the Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation (PCE) tool for the 13 countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Palau, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Fiji Islands.

The participants took time to visit the high temperature forced air (HTFA) facility at Nature’s Way in Nadi and timber treatment facilities at Fiji Hardwood and Tropic Wood Industry in Lautoka. They also visited the sites of activities undertaken by Operation Kadivuka – an operation to eradicate the Asian subterranean termite Coptotermes gestroi which is ongoing in the Lautoka area.

Participants were issued copies of the templates in addition to workshop comments for each of the draft ISPMs on discussion to assist national plant protection offices in compiling their national comments for submission to the IPPC Secretariat.

Certification and community development issues critical to sustainable land and forestry management

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earning a range of land-use and certification options for sustainable land and forest management became the focus of an innovative workshop held in Hobart, Australia from 22 – 24 September for about 30 regional participants. Underpinning and driving such management is the creation of clear community development outcomes, the participants learned.

The workshop brought together private landowners from Australia and experts in land-use and certification to share knowledge and experiences with participants from Pacific Islands (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste) and Asia (China, South Korea and India).

Faculty members Technical expertise included forest management, agriculture, carbon and tourism, as well as representatives of the Forest Stewardship Council, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and organisations in the sphere of organic agriculture and sustainable tourism.

The workshop was facilitated by Forestry Stewardship Council Australia in partnership with ICCO (Interchurch Organization for Development, Netherlands), the SPC EU-Facilitating Agricultural Commodity Trade (FACT)

project and Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) International, with support from Gunns Limited.

The programme adopted elements of a strategy lab approach used by large firms to work their way through strategic barriers. In this case, the challenge is to overcome the relatively low uptake of certification options, particularly in forestry. International markets (and funding organisations) are increasingly looking to certification to verify the origin of products and (in the case of development organisations) to verify that social and environmental outcomes are being achieved. The Pacific faces particular challenges because of its fragmented land areas owned in small lots by villages and communities. As well as high transport costs, costs associated with certification can also be high per unit of output due to the fragmentation of ownership. This creates a weak business case for certification yet, without certification, produce may be denied market access.

Workshop participants learned of a case study in Tasmania involving a farmer (Mr Peter Downie, Lagoon of Islands) who established a brand for his farm around FSC certification of his forest areas and

The workshop brought together private landowners from Australia and experts in land-use and certification to share knowledge and experiences with participants from Pacific Islands (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste) and Asia (China, South Korea and India).

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

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leveraging this to include other economic activities such as agriculture, tourism and carbon, as well as wood.

The experts offered insights into a range of economic activities.

They encouraged the participants to look at their land in terms of the suite of opportunities available and consider which may have the greatest value potential. They were shown presentations on certification opportunities and also encouraged to look at how these could be integrated. Ms Shoanna Humphries from FSC outlined an ongoing project that proposes joint marketing of FSC and Fairtrade certification.

On the final day of the workshop, participants worked through the information they had been provided with to examine their own situation.

They looked at opportunities for finance, the expectations of funders and the need for a business plan to set out specified outcomes. Participants were expected to prepare an action plan that prioritised how the information gathered would be used once they returned to their community.

The diverse group of people brought together for the workshop was able to challenge the traditional commodity silo that restricts thinking to single product outcomes rather than total community value creation. One forest scheme operator announced at the end of the conference that he now realised the importance of delivering social and community development outcomes rather than just forest certification; a trader from Bougainville wanted to expand her activities from cocoa and coconut to wood; there was a realisation that the prerequisites for a successful Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation REDD project involved much the same work as a successful forest certification project, so these opportunities should generally be considered concurrently; and a group from Fiji felt they had a clearer idea of how to move ahead with their certification project. There are follow-up project opportunities to implement this approach in villages and communities in 2011.

(Submitted by Michael Spencer, CEO, Forest Stewardship Council of Australia, michael@fscaustralia.org

Population pressures, unsustainable logging and the effects of tourism development all have negative impacts on land and the resources it provides.

Making land work

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he Fourth Regional Meeting of Heads of Agriculture and Forestry (HOAFS) endorsed an initiative for improving land management and minimising conflict associated with ownership of land. These goals are among the priorities of the Pacific Plan.

The endorsement came after the meeting considered the findings of the report, Making land work, and the assistance that Australia plans to provide to support this initiative in the region. The report, which was prepared by AusAID as an information resource for countries wanting to undertake land policy reform, looks at suitable legal and institutional mechanisms that also protect the interests of customary owners and land users. As the meeting heard, land policy reform is becoming increasingly necessary in Pacific Island countries and territories to protect customary rights, promote economic development and reduce conflict related to land.

As a result of the endorsement of the land management initiative, SPC, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the University of the South Pacific – with the support of national, regional and international partners – will work together to develop a regional project on land management and conflict minimisation for economic and social development. The project will be implemented by SPC, specifically by its Land Management and Resources Support Team.

Speaking on the role of sustainable land management in economic growth and security, Mr Inoke Ratukalou, Acting Director of SPC’s Land Resources Division, said land is the main source of livelihood for most Pacific Island people.

‘More than 85 per cent of all land in the Pacific Islands is under customary ownership. It is thus an essential part of people’s cultural identity and an important element in social and political relationships. However, population pressures, unsustainable logging and the effects of tourism development all have negative impacts on land and the resources it provides.’

Mr Ratukalou said these impacts include loss of fertility, damage to watersheds, soil erosion and lagoon pollution. He stressed that having secure access to customary land for economic development and at the same time ensuring sustainable use of that land, has become more urgent with the need to increase the pace of economic growth in the region.

‘Rarely, if at all, have the economic and security-related dimensions of land been pursued simultaneously. Experience around the world shows that there can be no peace without equitable development, which must include sustainable management of resources in a democratic environment free of conflict,’ he said.

‘The challenge is for Pacific Island governments and resource owners to unlock the development potential of their land, while at the same time retaining the security of their resources for current and future generations.’

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

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Pacific ‘laboratorians’ network linking agriculture and health sectors

S

PC, in promoting the campaign One World, One Health, is facilitating stronger links between agriculture and health in disease diagnostics capability in the region. A workshop to address these issues was held from 1–4 November at the Novotel Lami, Suva, Fiji. It brought together Pacific laboratory technicians through the Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network (PPHSN).

PPHSN is a voluntary network of countries and organisations dedicated to the promotion of public health surveillance and appropriate response to the health challenges of the 22 member countries of SPC.

The workshop focussed on information sharing and identification of common needs and concerns among laboratory workers (or laboratorians as they are sometimes called) in health and agriculture.

It was organised by the SPC Public Health Division and Animal Health and Production Services, both supported by the Pacific Regional Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Project (PRIPPP). Animal health representatives from 15 Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs) took part in the workshop. The meeting was particularly useful for small PICTs, as they are looking to maximise their limited animal health resources by sharing, where possible, with human health laboratory resources. SPC provides advocacy in regional and international settings to allow appropriate resource sharing between animal health and

human health laboratories, in recognition of the limited resources in small countries and territories.

International organisations that were represented included the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Environmental Science and Research New Zealand, the Fiji School of Medicine (FSMed), the Pacific Islands Health Officers Association (PIHOA), and WHO offices and collaborating centres in Fiji, Manila and Melbourne. International animal health reference libraries, including CSIRO, the Australian Animal Health Laboratory and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Biosecurity New Zealand–Investigation and Diagnostic Centre added diversity to the forum. The meeting was funded

by FSMed, CDC and PRIPPP through AusAID and the New Zealand International Aid Programme.

Panel discussions included assessment of the current status of laboratory training, laboratory testing, specimen shipment, links and support available through reference laboratories, guidelines to manage PPHSN target diseases and other animal diseases of public health importance.

A one-day training session on the dangerous goods regulation (DGR) relating to packaging and shipment of human and animal health specimens was delivered by Ms Vasiti Uluiviti of PIHOA. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) DGR emphasises the importance of the initial and recur-

rent training programmes on dangerous goods to develop appreciation of the risks involved. A total of forty-five participants attended the DGR training, with forty-one sitting the certification exam. Twenty-four from public health and fourteen from animal health passed as certified shippers for Category A/B human and animal diagnostic specimens.

Non-certified participants are still eligible to package Category B specimens.

PRIPPP donated French and English versions of the 52nd edition of IATA’s Dangerous goods regulation manual to all 20 participating PICTs. Ambient bio-bottles and bio-freeze specimen packaging boxes were also distributed to PICT public health and animal health participants respectively.

Action proposed at the meeting include the completion of human and animal health laboratory policies, improving laboratory procurements and the establishment of systems for referring samples between human health and animal health laboratories.

Proper selection of participants from the countries was once again highlighted to ensure the region truly benefits by acquiring skills developed at regional capacitybuilding training.

The PPHSN Technical Working Body, formed at the first LabNet meeting in 2000, is to be revived with revised terms of references that take into account animal health issues and interests.

A similar laboratory network platform, the Pacific Animal Health Laboratory Network (PAHLNet) was established in 2009 through PRIPPP and is taking on board similar activities that made PPHSN LabNet a success.

The next PPHSN LabNet meeting is scheduled for 2012.

SPC, in promoting the campaign One World, One Health, is facilitating stronger links between agriculture and health in disease diagnostics capability in the region. volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

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The tree management workshops (held on Vava’u and Tongatapu) covered various topics from selecting, planting and managing fruit trees suitable to various areas of Tonga to specific issues, such as how to prepare and manage cyclonic conditions and water shortages.

Fruit salad trees an attraction at Tonga World Food Day celebrations

W

orld Food Day was celebrated in the Kingdom of Tonga on Friday, October 15, 2010. This was a highlight for the Tongan Fruit Tree project team (supported by ACIAR and SPC). The project team, led by technical consultant Roger Hober assisted the Princess Regal in planting a fruit salad tree (a multi-grafted citrus tree) at her residence in Nuku‘alofa.

The Princess was on hand to oversee the planting, showing her fondness for growing a wide variety of fruit trees in her own garden and throughout the Kingdom of Tonga. This plant was one of a consignment of fruit tree plants imported from Australia as part of the gene pool expansion component of the project.

The Minister for Tonga MAFFF specifically requested the fruit salad tree because of his interest in fruit tree diversification. He is a keen supporter of the aims of the Tonga Fruit Tree Project.

The project team paid a special visit to him and his wife, and presented them with project T-shirts and a basket of fruit.

The project team then attended the World Food Day event that was held at the Queen Salote Memorial Hall in Nuku‘alofa. The team put on a display of the fruits, fruit trees and educational information generated over the past two and a half years of the project. The display was very popular with the public and there was substantial coverage in the local media.

Fruit tree management and plant propagation training The Tonga Fruit Tree Project team conducted a series of workshops after the World Food Day celebrations — two fruit tree management courses and two fruit tree propagation workshops.

The workshops were held on Vava‘u (19–21 October) and Tongatapu (26–27 October) and drew participants from the Ha‘apai group and ‘Eua. Attendance ranged from between 20 and 60 students at each workshop.

The propagation workshops focused on practical budding, grafting and marcotting techniques for a wide range of tropical fruit trees.

The tree management workshops covered various topics from selecting, planting and managing fruit trees suitable

to various areas of Tonga to specific issues, such as how to prepare and manage cyclonic conditions and water shortages.

Pasifiki Trade Fair (21–23 October 2010) The Pasifiki Trade Fair was organised by the Tonga Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Labour, Commerce and Industries. This annual event recognises sustainable development in Tonga through networking and effective partnerships with the Government of Tonga, civil society, regional organisations and development partners.

For the first time, MAFFF registered a booth for this year’s event.

The booth displayed agricultural produce — mainly fruits and vegetables — mushrooms, agro-processing products and seedlings and extension material, as well as fact sheets produced by the ACIAR Fruit Tree project. There was also a film showing people involved in fruit tree activities. It was a very rewarding effort; MAFFF was awarded a prize and two certificates for having the best information booth and being the first runner-up in the new entrants category.

Nutrition of tropical fruits workshop (28 October 2010 Tongatapu) This workshop addressed the nutritional benefits of fruit. At the end of the

Tongan students at the Vaini grafting workshop.

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

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....cont’d on pg 25 Land Resources News

Vanuatu farmers practice pesticide free agriculture

A

recent survey of 30 farmers from Efate, Vanuatu’s main island, revealed that they made almost no use of pesticides. In addition, the study showed that mobile phones were the most commonly used communication tool among the farmers.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Land Resources Division (LRD) is working with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the project, titled ‘Capacity Building for the Implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA) in ACP Countries: Obsolete Pesticides and Pesticide Management’.

The project sets out a number of focal areas which will be the main areas of implementation. This process identified the key areas of focus for the Pacific region as pesticide regulation, alternatives to chemical pesticides, and communication and raising awareness.

The project is being piloted in five countries: Fiji Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. Delegates from these countries first met in 2009 at the first MEA workshop. The findings

Mr Baigeorge Swua, quarantine officer, conducting interviews at Port Vila market. The Vanuatu farmers consultation on Efate was carried out to collect baseline data on pesticide knowledge and use with the aim to develop a communications strategy.

from the pilot project in these countries will be used to address the same issues in other countries in the region through existing regional structures or under future arrangements with FAO. FAO has entrusted LRD to facilitate the key activities in each component of the project.

The farmers who came to the Vanuatu consultation represented the three main farmer groups on Efate – Paunigisu Farmers Association from north Efate (producing cassava flour), Teouma district (just outside Port Vila), and Vanuatu Farmers Association.

Vanuatu Direct, a commercial operation farming vegetables for export on 50 hectares of land, was represented by

In the survey, most farmers said they did not have access to computers and almost all had never used the Internet; but all said that they carried mobile phones. volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

General Manager Cornelia Wyllie. Over 80 per cent of agricultural activity in Vanuatu is smallholder production, and most of the agricultural land on Efate is used for raising cattle. Vanuatu has developed a very good reputation for its exported organic beef.

The one-day meeting held in Port Vila in August was part of a pesticide stakeholders’ consultation with farmers and other pesticide users in Vanuatu, with the ultimate aim to develop a communications strategy on pesticide risk management in Vanuatu, as part of the SPC-FAO Multilateral Environmental Agreements project on pesticide risk management. There is genuine concern in the Pacific Islands regarding the effect of pesticides in food crops on human health and the environment.

Any communications strategy would need to recognise the pervasiveness of mobile phones in the rural farming community. In the survey, most farmers said they did not have access to computers and almost all had never used the Internet; but all said that they carried mobile phones.

Half the farmers said they listened to the radio a few times a day and watched a video programme or TV a few times a week.The low uptake of computers and limited Internet access (restricted to the urban centre) could be a result of very high costs in Vanuatu and lack of electricity in rural areas.

In Vanuatu, the land area for smallholder garden plots average 20m

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x 20 m. The main crops grown for home consumption and for sale at the Port Vila market are vegetables, taro, yams and cassava. Smallholder farmers use minimal tillage and are not well resourced. Farm implements are limited to bush knives and garden tools.

Thus, it came as no surprise when farmers indicated in the survey that they use little or no pesticide.

Many farmers said that they did not use pesticides because they perceive pesticides as poisons and therefore must be bad for human health. Other responses indicated that farmers rely on traditional methods to manage pests and diseases, that they lack knowledge on use of pesticides, and that there is no information available on pesticides. A few farmers responded that pesticides get rid of pests and increase the market value of crops.

Farmers showed keen interest in alternatives to pesticides, particularly the use of plant derived pesticides (neem, derris and aromatic plants) for smallholder farms, and industrial biopesticides (Bacillus thuringiensis [Bt] based) for commercial farms.

Crop rotation as traditionally practiced by farmers is a good alternative way to manage pests. Alternating crops confuses pests preventing them from establishing in large numbers.

Organic agriculture was also profiled as a farming method that uses no chemicals for crop production and crop protection â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a very appropriate alternative for Pacific Island ecosystems. Most farmers had heard of organic farming and many practice it in one form or other. Vanuatu now exports organic beef.

Staff of related national government ministries specialised in agriculture, forestry, environment, public health, and labour relations (the rights of workers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; be they farm hands or employees in a timber treatment plant â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to safe conditions is an industrial labour issue) were also invited to the consultation. Several NGOs and a pesticide supplier and distributor also participated in the meeting. In contrast to the limited knowledge shown by farmers regarding pesticides, government staff and the private sector exhibited a high degree of understanding of pesticide issues, including commitments to international agreements such as the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the FAO Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides. Feedback from the consultation showed that these related ministries, especially the Ministry of Health, are well resourced in both personnel and funding as compared to the Ministry of Agriculture, Quarantine, Forestry and Fisheries. They also reach deep into the community with their varied messages on health, the environment and rural development.

Thus any communication plan targeting rural farmers with capacity strengthening should in the first instance look for help from these ministries.

Communication messages on pesticides can piggyback on the information networks of these related ministries to ensure wider distribution. After all, farmers are the ultimate client of all rural development programmes.

Countries like Vanuatu and Solomon Islands have to contend with the

A commercial hydroponics lettuce operation outside Port Vila. Industrial biopesticide (Bacillus thuringiensis [Bt]), is used in some commercial farms. volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

presence of vector-borne diseases (VBD) like malaria, dengue fever and filarisis. The importation of large amounts of pesticides for the control of VBD requires good management and storage of the chemicals. One of the issues raised by these countries is the proper disposal of treated bednets after five years. Another is the misuse of the chemicals such as to kill prawns.

A suggestion was made to make the importer of pesticides responsible for the disposal of their product once it becomes obsolete.

The Head of the Vanuatu Department of Livestock and Quarantine, Benual Tarilong assisted with organising the consultation along with quarantine officers, Timothy Temukon and Baigeorge Swua.

SPC-LRD officers Fereti Atu, and Emil Adams conducted the consultation session.

For more information, please contact EmilA@spc.int, or lrdhelpdesk@spc.int.

TONGA WORLD FOOD DAY CELEBRATIONS...from pg 23

workshop the twenty-five participants were expected to understand the nutritional benefits of fruit and to have learned about preparing and consuming the fruit available in Tonga. The workshop was successfully conducted with the help of the Health Promotion Unit of the Ministry of Health and strong support from the Tonga Health Foundation. The participants particularly enjoyed a trip to the Vaini Orchard, where they learned about fruits that have been introduced to Tonga. At the end of the workshop, the participants prepared fruit drinks and snacks from common fruits like pineapple, banana, papaya, passionfruit, watermelon and apples and also from introduced fruits such as black sapote and carambola. Participants appreciated and enjoyed the healthy taste of what they prepared. Some even said that their drinks and snacks were better than those they had seen in colourful magazines and cookbooks. Most importantly, they were encouraged to use what they had learnt at home as part of family meals.

The participants were rewarded with free fruit tree seedlings of their choice. They were confident that these trees would provide the fruits they had learnt about in the workshop.

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Rust is the killer of the laplap, not radiation

by Tony Gunua, SPC Plant Pathologist.

A

rust fungal disease caused by Puccinia heliconiae is responsible for killing the leaves and stems of the tropical flowering plant, Heliconia, in Vanuatu.

This is the conclusion reached at the completion of a combined investigation into possible causes of the disorder organised by Vanuatu Quarantine and Plant Protection and SPCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Land Resources Division.

Plant protection officers, BaiGeorge Sua and Sylverio Bule of Vanuatu Quarantine and SPC plant pathologist Tony G. Gunua, confirmed the presence of Puccinia heliconiae, a rust fungus, as the agent responsible for killing the Heliconia leaves and stems. The disease was reported from Santo in 2009 and from Maewo, Pentecost and Ambae Islands in 2010.

The disease causes a burnt effect in older leaves that spreads quickly to the young leaves on the same plant stand, eventually killing all the leaves and stems in a matter of days. The people of these islands had never witnessed such devastation of Heliconia plants before, and came to the conclusion that it is caused by radiation from recently installed mobile phone towers.

Ni-Vanuatu grow a particular variety of Heliconia, known locally as laplap, for its many uses â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as a wrapper for the popular grated cassava and meat dish, as a plate, as cover for an earth oven, as an umbrella and as roofing material for thatched houses. This laplap variety has broader leaves and less attractive flowers than the ornamental varieties. In the Pacific there are six varieties of Heliconia,

A rust fungal disease caused by Puccinia heliconiae is responsible for killing the leaves and stems of the tropical flowering plant, Heliconia, in Vanuatu.

some of which Ni-Vanuatu grow to earn cash from the sale of the leaves at major markets in Port Vila and Luganville.

The rust was first reported to affect Heliconia in some South American countries in the 1940s. Only recently has it been reported outside America. This was in Aitape, Papua New Guinea (PNG) during a border survey carried out in 2006 by the National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority and the Northern Australian Quarantine Strategy. The mode of long distance transmission could not be ascertained, but it is thought

Ni-Vanuatu grow a particular variety of Heliconia, known locally as laplap, for its many uses â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as a wrapper for the popular grated cassava and meat dish, as a plate, as cover for an earth oven, as an umbrella and as roofing material for thatched houses.

to be caused by infected inflorescence discarded on visiting yachts and cruise boats, and possibly also by air currents.

The plant protection team conducted awareness workshops in affected villages and used local media, Radio Vanuatu and the Vanuatu Daily Post, to tell people that the death of the laplap plants was caused by a rust disease and not emissions from mobile towers as they had believed. As the rust thrives only on living tissue, the team recommended that the leaves and stems of affected and unaffected plants in an area be completely removed and then either burned or buried in order to minimise the spread

of the rust and reduce inoculum levels.

To prevent introducing the fungus to new areas and other islands, the people in affected areas were advised not to transport laplap plants to unaffected areas.

Furthermore, they were encouraged to grow more of the green petiole /stem and dwarf varieties, as these showed more tolerance to the disease than varieties with brown or pink stems.

Further work is proposed for the identification of tolerant varieties and the management of the disease.

For more information, please contact: lrdhelpdesk@spc.int.

The plant protection team conducted awareness workshops in affected villages and used local media, Radio Vanuatu and the Vanuatu Daily Post, to tell people that the death of the laplap plants was caused by a rust disease and not emissions from mobile towers as they had believed.

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

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Land Resources News

Fiji Organic Association to spearhead organic farming in Fiji

by Vinesh Prasad, LRD information assistant

T

he Fiji Organic Association (FOA), established in 2006, is a non-profit organisation that provides guidance on organic farming practices in Fiji.

In its last annual general meeting held in October 2010, delegates were told that organics is the fastest growing sector in the global food industry and holds a big potential for agriculture in the Pacific. Pacific agricultural exports that are certified organic include virgin coconut oil, spices, noni, and beef.

FOA will operate under the auspices of Pacific Organic and Ethical Trade Community (POETCom), a newly formed association of Pacific organic producers that is pioneering a regional approach to organics and fair trade in the Pacific Island region.

A Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) can be defined as a grassroots quality assurance system to certify producers based on the active participation of all those involved. Visits are conducted by a team composed of a producer and a consumer. They are then discussed by a group of consumers and producers that issues an opinion on certification of the inspected farms. This opinion and the inspection report are then studied by a certification committee, which issues the label. For a PGS, the participation and sense of responsibility of all those involved in the sector are critical since they affect the dynamics of the system.

In order for a PGS to work effectively, conditions must be met: l All the stakeholders must share a common vision of organic farming, l The system must be transparent since all the stakeholders, e.g. producers, consumers, institutions, know how the guaranty process works, l Trust must exist between the producer who commits to following the rules of the Pacific Organic Standard and the other participants in this sector, l Horizontality since all those who take part in guaranty share the same responsibilities within the inspection process.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Land Resources Division (LRD) has been assisting FOA since its inception with technical and financial assistance.

According to Sokoveti Namoumou, Vice President of FOA, there is a need to organise systematic organic production and value adding due to Fiji’s location and transport problems.

‘This will enable us to take advantage of the huge organic market potential that exists in developed countries.’

FOA has 33 registered members and is also affiliated with International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).

‘Some of our members are also willing to be certified under the Pacific Organic Standard (POS), which was developed by POETCom.’

The global organic market reached US$25 billion in 2005 from US$13 billion in 1998. Worldwide, there are almost 31 million hectares of land certified organic.

The Pacific Organic Standard describes the requirements for organic production. It covers plant production, animal production,, bee-keeping, collection of wild products, and aquaculture.and also the processing and labelling of products derived from these activities. However, the Standard does not cover procedures for verification, such as inspection or certification of products.

POETCom is expediting efforts to have POS achieve equivalence with New Zealand, Australian and other organic standard since European Union (EU) Organic Standards have already recognised it.

Ms Sokoveti also added that initially FOA is mobilising the small farmer groups to conform to the Pacific’s Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) for quality assurance.

‘By default, many farmers that practice subsistence and semi-commercial farming qualify for PGS. Since FOA is part of POETCom, it becomes even easier for us adapt to PGS.’

‘POS could be used for certifying for PGS targeting local market and once the organic guarantee system

volume 6 number 3 - December 2010

The Pacific Organic Standard describes the requirements for organic production. It covers plant production, animal production,, beekeeping, collection of wild products, and aquaculture.and also the processing and labelling of products derived from these activities.

for POS is developed, it will be used to certify for overseas market.’

She added that moving towards organic certification is the ultimate aim of FOA; however, conforming to PGS is the next best option available to benefit from the markets opportunities available.

The FOA meeting concluded that association needs to establish a full time secretariat and conduct training on PGS and the internal control system using the Pacific Organic Standard.

The meeting also directed FOA to liaise with a registered international certification body to conduct international certification using the Pacific Organic Standard for local importers and create more public awareness on organic farming.

SPC LRD Information, Communication and Extension Coordinator Stephen Hazelman has been leading LRD’s mandate on organics in Pacific through POETCom.

Former managing director of Fiji Nature’s Way, Mr Sant Kumar was re-elected President in the last AGM together with Sokoveti Namoumou as vice President, Ben V Nand as treasurer and Shareen Prasad of LRD-SPC as secretary.

Five new committee members were also elected to assist with the work of FOA. They are Dharmendra Singh, Satish Kumar, Kyle Stice, Michael Brown and Poasa Nauluvula.

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Land Resources News

All ACP Agricultural Commodities Programme

T

he All ACP Agricultural Commodities Programme (AAACP) for the Pacific region involves a total of 20 activities with an aggregate amount of Euros 2.5 million as at end of June 2010.

Activities cut across the three main programme areas: strategy development, strategy implementation and risk management. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community is the programme focal point in the region and works to ensure leveraging of the programmeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities and synergies with other regional activities in the sector.

Strategy development Participatory value chain diagnosis and strategy formulation have been facilitated for the fruit and vegetable and root and tuber sector in Fiji, the fruit and vegetable sector in Samoa, and the coconut value chain in Solomon Islands.

In Fiji, the strategy document and implementation plan are both available, but have yet to be validated.

In Samoa, a strategy for the development of the fruit and vegetable sector aims to make the sector more attractive to producers and to investors interested in the development of exports. Using a participatory approach, stakeholders developed the comprehensive strategy with the support of programme implementing partners (International Trade Centre, UN Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], World Bank, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) and the Government of Samoa. The Government of Samoa has yet to validate the strategy but has agreed to co-fund the programme, notably the operations of a coordination committee set up to bring together all parties active in the value chain.

More generally, FAO supports the strategy formulation process through a series of domestic market studies, capacity-building on value-chain analysis and the translation of strategic options into concrete policies and plans. For greater impact and sustainability, some of these AAACP-funded interventions have been linked to a broader FAO initiative in the region on evidence-based decisionmaking.

Strategy implementation Following the formulation of the strategy, international organisations complement each other in implementing activities that address specific gaps identified.

Thus, FAO has supported the strengthening of the Melanesian Farmers First Network (MFFN), and working with producer associations in Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu to upgrade business models and improve farmer-buyer linkages in the fruit and vegetable sector. As a complement to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) analysis of regulatory constraints that hinder access of agricultural producers to finance, FAO is working on identifying and designing financial mechanisms for smallholders and finance needs assessments.

The contribution of the International Trade Centre (ITC) to strategy implementation focuses on product and market development and trade support services. While on hold for Fiji, several activities have been undertaken for Samoan stakeholders.

Study tours have been organised to equipment providers and target markets.

Capacity training in Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is underway for local quality consulting and inspection firms.

UNCTAD is in the process of setting up a pilot subregional market information system which will involve several countries in the region. Recent missions have led to a shift in technology base, from computer to handheld mobile system. The activity will be undertaken in close cooperation with ITC. Last March, UNCTAD launched the Sustainability Claims Portal in the region in the presence of Hon. Stephen Kalsakau, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Livestock and Quarantine of Vanuatu.

AAACP contributed, through World Bank funding, to the implementation of an extant National Coffee Strategy for Papua New Guinea (PNG). This contribution has provided a basis for the preparation of a new World Bank operation, Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (PPAP), to be co-financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Another completed activity funded by AAACP in PNG and implemented by the World Bank involved identifying opportunities to add-value and/

SPC-LRD main donor partners are European Union (EU), AusAID, volume 6 number 3 Cooperation - December 2010 NZAid, German Technical Agency (GTZ), and Taiwan/ Republic of China

or diversify existing farming systems in coffee- and cocoa-growing areas, whether at the production, processing or marketing level, and developing proposals for related activities under the proposed PPAP. Risk management In response to the gaps identified by the strategy formulation process, the World Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Agricultural Risk Management Team (ARMT) undertook a risk evaluation for fruit and vegetable supply chains identifying and quantifying major risks to stakeholders and proposing risk mitigation and risk management. The field mission took place in late June and early July 2010, having been delayed at the request of the Samoa government as a result of the tsunami at the beginning of September 2009.

FAO has also been working in the area as part of an assessment of risk management in island economies.

An initial survey covered Fiji and Vanuatu. Follow-up will focus on financial mechanisms for the fruit and vegetable sector of Samoa, underlying the integrated intervention of regional agencies.

Leveraging and synergies Programme support in the Pacific has built on and contributed to other recent or ongoing interventions by other development partners in the region.

Thus, SPCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s EU-funded Facilitating Agricultural Commodity Trade (FACT) project has produced numerous market studies and value-chain analyses, which have informed AAACP activities. On the other hand, AAACP inputs in the PNG coffee sector and in the Samoa fruit and vegetable sector have prepared the ground for a larger World Bank/IFAD project and the World Bank Samoa Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Project respectively. Similarly, SPC has been working closely with its Australian and Pacific counterparts to ensure that the approaches developed under AAACP in the Fiji and Samoa fruit and vegetable strategies feed into the work of the Pacific Agribusiness Research for Development Initiative (PARDI). SPC is also working to ensure that the priority products and supply chains that will receive support from the AusAID (Australian Agency for International Development) Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA) programme are the same as those identified under AAACP.

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Land Resources News