| ID: | 83763 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Kiribati |
| Title: | Kiribati – Pacific Islands Rural and Agriculture Stimulus Facility (PIRAS) – November 2022 |
| Description: |
Ms Aborina Ramtem, 23, and Mr Willie Marera Tabuia, 24, tend to vegetable growing in the Tungaru Youth Agriculture Association garden in Temwaiku, South Tarawa. Willie is one of eight children in his family. His father passed away a few years ago, leaving him and his siblings with their mother. Only three of his siblings had paying jobs. Willie, who is unemployed, and the others contributed to household needs doing farming and gardening. “Before COVID, life was easy. But during the pandemic and all the lockdown restrictions, we struggled a lot and living seemed to be so difficult. We experienced daily food supply shortages and had no income to support us throughout the crisis. This motivated us to return to our individual gardens to grow food for ourselves.” Like so many people across the Kiribati atoll, Willie continued to struggle even after the worst of the pandemic lockdown period had passed. That is, until PIRAS helped Willie get back on his feet. Willie believes that agriculture is the key to a brighter future. He saw an opportunity to empower young people like himself to make a difference in their communities through gardening. With PIRAS support, Willie established the Tungaru Youth Agriculture Association at the beginning of 2022 and created a demonstration plot where youth can learn and experiment with different farming techniques suitable to Kiribati’s climate. They grow a range of vegetables, such as zucchini, cucumber, cabbage, lettuce, and eggplants. Everything they produce is either consumed by them at household level or sold at the nearest roadside market. They share their earnings, saving some of the profit for the association. Aborina, one of the association’s members, told, “Thanks to PIRAS and Live & Learn, we learned valuable skills, and received tools, food cubes and rainwater collection tanks that increased our capacity to produce nutritious vegetables more efficiently and in greater quantity. We have improved our diets and increased our income, and I have gained skills in cooking and saving seeds. I know that wherever I go, this knowledge will always be with me.” Willie added, “Instead of eating vegetables only once a month, as we did before COVID, now it is more likely that our daily diet includes vegetables from our garden.” The Association’s impact has been significant. For Willie, observing the youth gain knowledge, skills and confidence has been the most rewarding part of the project. They have learned how to grow their own food and are able to support their families with fresh, healthy vegetables, while simultaneously making a positive impact on the environment. They have also become leaders in their communities and ambassadors for sustainable farming practices, sharing their knowledge with others and inspiring them to take up gardening as well. Launched in 2022 in collaboration between IFAD and the Australian Government, the Pacific Islands Rural and Agriculture Stimulus (PIRAS) Facility is a regional initiative that aims to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural island households. The programme supports food system and economic recovery by prioritizing food self-reliance, improving local nutrition and developing sustainable, equitable agricultural livelihood opportunities for rural communities in Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. In Kiribati, PIRAS works in collaboration with the Atolls Food Future Project, implemented by Live & Learn Environmental Education, and focuses on increasing farm production, nutrition and climate resilience by providing farmers and gardeners with nutrition-sensitive seedlings and planting materials, labour-saving tools, and equipment. It trains them in the safe use and maintenance of water tanks, composting production and soil preparation, and liquid fertilizer production and application. |
| Size: | 8.86 MB; 5472 x 3648 pixels; 463 x 309 mm (print at 300 DPI); 1448 x 965 mm (screen at 96 DPI); |
| Show more details: | Barbara Gravelli |
| Copyright: | © IFAD/ Barbara Gravelli |
| Categories: | New from Asia and the Pacific |
Loading...
Loading...