Aumua’s Challenge: Fund agriculture for nutrition, inclusion, survival
The international community has been urged to invest in agricultural innovation in a way that includes traditional practitioners and acknowledges the interconnectedness of agriculture with nutrition, culture, climate
Pacific Community’s Agricultural Gene Bank wins Global Award
The Pacific region, where most people depend on agriculture and fisheries for sustenance and income, is now one step ahead in food security, Inter Press Service reports. The region’s agricultural gene bank,
Reviving Cacao in Fiji: Arif Khan
A founder of an award-winning cacao company in Fiji says more should be done to revive the nation’s cocoa industry. Formerly a real-estate agent, Arif Khan founded Cacao Fiji in the lush hills of Dreketi because he
PNG proposed carbon credit law queried
Hiri-Koiari MP Keith Iduhu has asked in Papua New Guinea Parliament for an update on a proposed amendment by the Forestry Authority to include forestry produce under its authority. This would include classifying carbon
New parametric insurance products launched
In early August, Salaseini Koroi, a schoolteacher turned cane farmer, sent two tonnes of harvested cane to Lautoka mill. It was the culmination of a year’s hard work in the fields of Lautoka, in Fiji’s western
Milk goats and soaps
From her garage-turned-lab, entrepreneur Beatrice Nast is creating Fiji’s first soap made from pure goat milk. The current president of the Society of Fiji Travel Associates, Nast has worn many hats during her tourism
Help from Above: ‘AgWorld’ App Aids Farm Management in Tonga
From the clouds fall the rains that bring much welcomed moisture and nutrients for farmers the world over. But for a group of growers on the island kingdom of Tonga, a cloud of the virtual kind offers a whole new world
From Farm to Table to Memory
Hidden inside the golf course on Denarau is a burgeoning farm. Fiji National University graduate Shahil Ram has been managing the plot for the Marriott group for a year, and despite suffering a slight setback because of
Vee’s Organic Farms: Down to earth, still atop the world
The story could have ended with a flight attendant being told she would never walk or talk again, simply being grounded, but Vitila Vuniwaqa hopes to inspire others with chapters in which she
PNG’s booming horticulture industry worth K3 billion
Papua New Guinea’s horticulture and fresh produce industry is estimated to be worth more than K3 billion (US$854 million) but there is potential for expansion, Fresh Produce Development Agency general manager Mark
Farmers need to be part of disaster risk talks
At risk of ‘unintended effects’ of climate policies: World Farmers Organisation Farmers could be hurt by the very actions that are meant to help them if they are not in the room when disaster risk reduction
Cook Islands retrace its breadfruit roots
A breadfruit revival of sorts is underway in Cook Islands, revitalising, or re-popularising breadfruit orchards on the archipelago.
Vanuatu students learn to farm and save
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
A trip to Tanna
By Len Garae The thousands of people who converged on Laminu Stadium on Tanna Island for the recent National Week of Agriculture were living proof that Vanuatu is ready to produce, value-add and market its agricultural
Kava: brewing up a storm
There’s a storm brewing over the Pacific as the region’s kava industry watches a gradually unfolding situation in the North Queensland city of Bundaberg. Known more for its sugar cane and famous rum, the city has
Australian Agricultural Visa: an end to the PLS?
Yesterday the Australian government announced that a new Australian Agriculture visa is to be created in addition to the Pacific Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme. The new announcement is significant,
Science in a different dialect
The Pacific region has relied on traditional knowledge from time immemorial to predict bad weather. Across our ocean of islands, sightings of low-flying frigates, or an abundance of breadfruit in a particular season can
How an ASEAN ag visa would undermine Pacific seasonal worker programs
The Australian Federal Agriculture Minister, David Littleproud, announced yesterday morning on the ABC that the National Party had demanded and gained acceptance of a proposed “seasonal agricultural workforce visa”
Farmers have their say
BUT ARE THEY BEING HEARD? By Samantha Magick Were you one of the many Pacific Islanders who spent the first few weeks of the coronavirus pandemic with soil under your nails? The introduction of lockdowns plus border
Pacific farmers have their say
Were you one of the many Pacific Islanders who spent the first few weeks of the coronavirus pandemic with soil under your nails? The introduction of lockdowns plus border closures precipitated an explosion of backyard
Minoru Nishi on business during COVID
For farmers and producers like Tonga’s Minoru Nishi, Managing Director of Nishi Trading Company, COVID-19 has been a double-edged hoe. “Our exports actually increased in terms of demand from the market, and I
Protecting food security in the face of COVID-19
SPC Land Resources DivisionIn a move to help boost food security as the Pacific recovers from COVID-19, The Pacific Community’s (SPC) Land Resources Division (LRD) has established two rapid response projects: The