| ID: | 83698 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Kiribati |
| Title: | Kiribati – Pacific Islands Rural and Agriculture Stimulus Facility (PIRAS) – December 2023 |
| Description: |
Merinda Moutu takes her turn working in the shop of her gardener’s association in Teaoraereke, South Tarawa. Merinda Moutu (41 years old) lives with her husband, child and two in Teaoraereke, South Tarawa. She is originally from the island of Nonouti, a part of the South Gilberts Atoll about 250 kilometres south of Tarawa. When she joined the PIRAS project in 2022, she received seeds and seedlings for her garden. She grows cabbage, tomotoes and cucumbers that she sells in the nearby market earning on average between 10 and 20 AU$ each day. Merinda is part of a 20-member association of vegetable gardeners who take turns selling the group’s collective produce, with ten per cent of the daily profit going to the person selling. Before, they had very little income. But now, with the money they are earning from their gardening, they can afford to buy more seeds, as well as rice, flour, sugar and other basic food necessities for their families. “By growing our own vegetables in our gardens, we can eat more nutritious food and be healthier. Especially for my husband, who suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes, his health has improved. I am so thankful for the many ways this project has helped me and my family through gardening.” PIRAS provided Merinda with food cubes, seeds and seedlings, and Live & Learn trained her how build raised keyhole planting beds and to make compost to enrich the sandy soil. She learned to mix different organic materials with the sand – such as fresh and dried leaves, ashes, seaweed and iron scaled from rusty cans – to create a nutrient rich growing environment. The foodcubes provide a convenient and cost-effective solution for growing vegetables efficiently manage scarce water resources with wicking cones that slowly but continuously provide plants with water. 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: | 14.43 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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