| ID: | 86000 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Solomon Islands |
| Title: | Solomon Islands - Pacific Islands Rural and Agriculture Stimulus Facility (PIRAS) - November 2022 |
| Description: |
Emma Avasi, born in 1964, is married with five grown children and several grandchildren. Her family home on Kolombangara Island, Western province, is isolated, quite far from the closest village with no nearby shops or services. Before COVID -19, Emma’s family grew a few garden vegetables like cabbage, beans and eggplant, as well as some root crops like taro and sweet potato. She recalls hearing about the COVID-19 pandemic when the Ministry of Health started to warn people to prepare, encouraging those who could to grow more food in their gardens. Although Emma took that advice to heart and grew lots of nutritious foods, she was not prepared for the lockdown situation that prevented her selling her garden produce and having money to buy soap and salt and other things she needed- all the things she could not get from the soil. Starting in March 2022, PIRAS, working with its local implementing partner, Kastom Garden Association, helped the local communities restart their farming and gardening. Emma received seeds and seedlings, labour saving hand tools and a wheelbarrow, and other inputs, such as shade cloth to protect the young seedlings from the harsh sun. Importantly, PIRAS also provided training on aspects of agricultural production, such as how to plant the seeds and seedlings, and how to produce seeds from the crops she harvested. Emma also learned about food processing and preservation techniques, composting and mulching, and other ways to increase her agricultural production. Emma is a member of the Ringgi Coastal Farmers Association and works at the Ringgi germplasm garden created by PIRAS in early 2022. PIRAS established nine such community-based germplasm centres that multiply and distribute high-quality planting materials, boosting local crop genetic resources and improving resiliency and food security. These centres also provide community-wide, hands-on education to rural farmers in the form of diversity fairs that promote farmer-to-farmer exchange, visibility for farmers’ associations, a marketplace, and information sharing through demonstrations, technical assistance, and crop showcasing. These PIRAS-supported fairs were specifically designed to meet the multiple needs of rural and remote communities. Instead of being hosted in larger towns and urban areas, the fairs are held in the rural communities closer to where farmers live, making it easier for them to participate. PIRAS is a collaboration between the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Australian Government that supports food system and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Pacific. Working through local implementing partner, Kastom Garden Association, the programme prioritizes strengthening food self-reliance, improving local nutrition and developing sustainable, equitable agricultural livelihood opportunities for 30 island communities in Solomon Islands’ Western, Choiseul and Central provinces. |
| Size: | 10.21 MB; 3648 x 5472 pixels; 309 x 463 mm (print at 300 DPI); 965 x 1448 mm (screen at 96 DPI); |
| Show more details: | Barbara Gravelli |
| Copyright: | ©IFAD/Barbara Gravelli |
| Categories: | New from Asia and the Pacific |
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