By Len Garae
Vanuatu’s government would like to see all Agriculture Farming Rural Training Centres copy the approach of NAPIL Farming Rural Training Centre, a rural community agriculture school where it is compulsory for all new intakes to open a bank account as a condition of enrolment.
The initiative is the first of its kind in the country.
The school was established by the local community in an agriculture rich area of Tanna called Middle Bush, which is regarded as the “food bowl” of the volcanic island.
NAPIL’s success, and training style has caught the attention of Minister of Agriculture, Willie Kalo and his Director General, Moses Amos, who want to see it replicated. They visited recently, presenting the centre with a mini tractor to plough the land and seeing first-hand the harvest of giant carrots and other innovations at the school.
At NAPIL, each student is allocated a personal plot of land to farm, applying the theory they learn in their classrooms. Teachers monitor and assess each student’s performance every step of the way, when they harvest their crops at maturity and are helped to sell them.
The revenue earned is deposited in the student’s bank account.
When the student’s training is complete, they are awarded their Certificate, and receive their savings bank book. “In his account, he must have earned and saved at least Vt100,000 (US$880) from his plot to start him off as a young farmer”, says the school’s manager.
It means a young farmer has not only the knowledge, but also the funds they have earned to buy new tools or other goods needed to start their career as a commercial farmer.
