| ID: | 86029 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Solomon Islands |
| Title: | Solomon Islands - Pacific Islands Rural and Agriculture Stimulus Facility (PIRAS) - November 2022 |
| Description: |
Simaema Parara is a small-scale farmer and member of the Ringgi Coastal Association located on Kolombangara Island, Western province. Thanks to the PIRAS project, which started implementation in March 2022 with local partner Kastom Garden, Simaema learned to grow ginger as a cash crop. She also received other inputs from the project, such as a variety of vegetable seeds and seedlings, labout-saving hand tools, including a wheel borrow, as well as shade cloth to protect the delicate young plants from the harsh sun. Simaema also learned new skills through the various training programmes on improved agricultural production practices, food processing and preservation techniques, and composting and mulching. Like Simaema, most people did some subsistence farming and gardening before PIRAS arrived on the island in March 2022. With the lockdown and trade restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the people were no longer permitted to travel to nearby markets to sell their produce or buy the things they needed. Many focused on doing their own backyard gardening and farming, growing enough for survival. By the time things started to open up again, most of the people no longer had the resources they needed to meet their family needs. PIRAS helped Simaema and others in the community restart their farming and gardening by providing them with seeds and seedlings, chickens, labour saving tools and other inputs. Importantly, PIRAS also provided training on how to plant the seeds and seedlings, and how to produce seeds from the crops they harvested. The people also learned how to manage the soil and how to look after their livestock. Moving from subsistence production to producing more, they are able to sell what they produce and earn an income, helping them become more food secure and resilient to future crises. 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: | 12.62 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 |
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