| ID: | 83701 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Kiribati |
| Title: | Kiribati – Pacific Islands Rural and Agriculture Stimulus Facility (PIRAS) – December 2023 |
| Description: |
Teunaia Anterea prepares a composting site in the garden of the Live & Learn- and IFAD-supported Tungaru Youth Agriculture Association in Temwaiku, Tarawa. Teunaia Anterea is one of six members of the Tungaru Youth Agriculture Association in Temwaiku, Tarawa. The group mainly focuses on agriculture-related activities, such as growing vegetables and making compost. Buyers come to their garden to buy cucumbers, cabbage, papaya, eggplant and watermelons on the spot. On the rare occasion that produce is left over, they take it to be sold at the local market. In an average week, the group harvests about 10 watermelons, 40 cucumbers and 400 cabbages and earn about AU$ 500. Live & Learn taught the young gardeners the simple, yet innovative keyhole technique for building raised beds for composting and cultivating vegetables. They make compost using waste materials abundantly available in most households, such as kitchen scraps, grass clippings, coconut husks and leaves, to improve soil health and growing conditions, increasing productivity with greater moisture and nutrient retention. As resources and funding become available, the association has future plans to expand their gardening activities, to involve the local community and train more people in gardening. 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 and 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: | 18.83 MB; 5616 x 3744 pixels; 475 x 317 mm (print at 300 DPI); 1486 x 991 mm (screen at 96 DPI); |
| Show more details: | Marco Salustro |
| Copyright: | ©IFAD/ Marco Salustro |
| Categories: | New from Asia and the Pacific |
| URL: | www.ifad.org |
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