AGEING FARMERS in Fiji and the Pacific

Need for Youths Getting their Hands Dirty

Youths should be motivated towards taking up a career in Agriculture rather burdens the older generation whom have been feeding the Pacific for ages. In the Pacific, Farming is regarded as a last option after all other options fail. I have heard retirees who have started farming after retirement that they only wished they knew then what they know now. 

Their is a future in agriculture but its awareness and campaign hasn't been widespread to penetrate the minds of youths. The industry is without role models to substantiate claims that its a far more rewarding career than it appears.

To achieve zero hunger and no poverty by 2030, the world will need to focus more on agriculture. Although it is the mainstay of many developing economies, agriculture continues to employ mainly older members of the population, while most young people are migrating to urban areas in search of alternative sources of income.

Although it demands hard work, youths are rarely enticed to it and often resort for menial jobs overthinking their access to acres of land. Youths have their own reasons but it doesn't undermine the fact that its an ideal option under current unemployment trends. 

Even at organisation leadership levels their is still an ad-lip that agriculture is the last option. I heard from a leader of a farmer organisation in the Pacific that he regards it likewise. This mentality by influential people are part of this plague and needs attention by passionate farmers like me in the Pacific.

We need to fight this in the years ahead continually so that there is food security in the Pacific
.

Agronet Fiji is committed to campaign for increased interest and active involvement of youths in agriculture so the next generation of Farmers are developed locally with specific emphases on indigenous communities. This global issue faced in Fiji is also evident among other Pacific Islanders and as an advocate for agriculture, our organisation is creating innovative ways and mechanisms so as to gain the interest among youths. With our neighbors Australia, the median age of Farmers is 53years old and would be roughly the same with us here in Fiji.

With the Export market growing exponentially with certain crops, the future of investing in agriculture is promising. Take for instance "Dalo" which is one of the top agricultural commodity exported. One of Fiji's exporter BEN'S TRADING supplies pink taro to Woolworths Supermarkets in Australia. This chain of supermarkets has over 900 stores and only 10 is currently being supplied by Bens Trading.

GRACE ROAD Organic Farm

Grace Road Organic Farm

Last week i visited the Grace Road Farm in Navua to see at first hand the operations this Korean based company ion terms of organic agriculture. We were greeted with the warm hospitality of the staff of the company. Just little over 2 years the company has achieved a lot in terms of infrastructure, cropping, vermiculite, organic fertilizer production and  food processing.

We were amazed how agricultural science has an impact on agriculture to make it sustainable.

Indegenous Peoples Forum

PIFON Meeting on Indigenous Issues

PIFON stands for Pacific Islands Farmer Organisation Network, the umbrella organisation for farmer organisation in the Pacific.

This week from the 21st to 23rd November, Farmer Organisations representatives from the Pacific convened at the Lagoon resort in Pacific Habour to discuss indigenous issues on agriculture in the Pacific.


The meeting were attended by reps from PNG, Palau, Marshal Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, FSM, Kiribati, Solomon, and Fiji.

The issues discussed covered a wide range and you can get a copy upon request through our contact form. The highlight of the meet was the visit to agricultural processors and organic farms. There is new information gathered in terms of agricultural technology, science and organic techniques, market access, product development, and many more.

Below are some pictures of the training.

Debate Team: Can Organic Feed the Pacific?

The debate finally happened as planned. I was honored to represent Young Farmers in the Pacific to be part of this team on affirmative that "Organics can feed the Pacific"

If you missed out on this debate you can watch this recorded video by clicking here .

Organics Can Feed the Pacific

The Rise of Organics in the Pacific- NZHERALD

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/element-magazine/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503340&objectid=11364893

Land Grabbing in Fiji

The issue of Land being grabbed by foreigners is a global issue and Fiji is not excluded either. After the summit in Bordeaux, France  i now realize that other governments are putting some form of control on land ownership to protect its citizens from being exploited by foreign investors. Others have farmer organisation which have been given constitutional powers to excise  addressing this issue.

Fiji is classified as a third world country and normally we don't give much notice on such land transactions and transfers as we prefer the investment necessitated. It is by far more important to drive investment rather than trying to protect citizens.

Fiji is experiencing the Asian invasion whereby Chinese investors not only buying commercial and residential properties but more to this is the buying of farm lands. I spoke with a representative from a land stakeholder organisation and was informed that they are one of the high buyers. And they buy with cash. Their purchasing power is far greater than those of locals who are financially stricken. Locals are on the loosing end.

There are no pressure groups from landowners and farmers, or if they do exist they is no impact on this problem.

We need to stand up to the need so as to secure the next generation of farmers.

Toso Viti!

Fiji Ginger at Budrim Ginger-Worlds Largest Ginger Factory

Fiji ginger is making its way into the Australia's ginger processing factory in Yandina,Sunshine Coast, Queensland. The company not only is a ginger factory producing a variety of ginger products but is a tourist attraction luring tourists flocking the Sunshine Coast to catch a glimpse of ginger. The tour basically introduces how ginger is farmed, harvested and processed into different products which is sold worldwide. During the tour we were briefed on planting to processing of ginger.

I a ginger farmer was waiting eagerly to know how they the company can be processing 2 tonnes of fermented ginger daily all year round. It quite a huge volume of raw ginger. I had questions in my mind where were the supply coming from to process that much of ginger. Later I had an opportunity to see one of their corporate manger whom i approached to try explore opportunities for a market for our young ginger farmers here in Fiji. Only to be told that they own Frespac in Wailada, Lami. In the tour nothing at all was mentioned that they sourced their ginger supply from Fiji. It sounded as if it was all locally Australian ginger.

The Factory

 

This ginger factory is huge and it uses all ginger byproducts like fermented juices are made to make ginger juice, ginger fiber is used for ginger bread and so forth.

 Just by seeing the size of this factory one would realize the volume of production and the markets in which their produts are being sold into. They are a recognised ginger factory in the world with their scintillating ginger base products.

After the tour of the factory we are taken into the tasting room to try some of the ginger products.

Below you see a tasitng plate with the ginger juice which was my favorite as it gives a refershing feeling as you gulp it down, wow its nice, you need to try it to believe me.

The Products:

International YOUNG Farmers Meet in France

The international young farmer's summit was hosted in Bordeaux, France from the 4th to the 6th of September,2014.

AgroNet Fiji was given an opportunity by to attend and was the only Pacific network represented.

I hadn't traveled to Europe and this was my first. The long hours which totaling a flying time of 28 hours was hectic with swollen feet giving evidence.

Apart from the hassle of travel and thus language in France, many lessons have been learned from other young farmer's network around the world. There were a total of 60 countries represented. Being the only Pacific country at the meet it was an opportunity to highlight challenges we face in our little island nations.

Great to have networking with farmer's groups whom some have existed over 50 yrs.

AgriBusiness Support Project (ASP) for Samoa

By Lagi Keresoma

APIA: THURSDAY 19 JUNE 2014: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Samoam government today signed the AgriBusiness Support Project (ASP) to provide business support services and financing to the agricultural businesses in Samoa.

The grant of $5 million from ADB and the $0.17 million from the Samoan government will help boost the “economic performance by addressing constraints that hinder increased trade and export.”

The project aims at sustaining commercial agribusinesses.

“The project is also working with the ANZ bank to provide suitable financing services to partner agribusiness,” said the visiting ADB Vice President Ms. Lakshmi Venkatachalam who signed the project with Samoa’s Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi.

“Agribusiness provides jobs and income. So their development will play a critical role in promoting a sustainable and inclusive growth for the community,” said Venkatachalam.

Agribusiness are small scale family business with less than 400 employees.

Their focus is on agro-industrial production such as chilli sauce, banana chips or fresh products for export or banana chips, or fresh products for export such as taro or Tahitian limes. They engage a significant number of smallholder families as suppliers of raw material. Agribusinesses are, therefore, critical for stimulating agricultural production.

The Samoa AgriBusiness Support Project aims to boost Samoa’s economic performance by addressing constraints that hinder increased trade and export. The project will assist selected commercial agribusinesses grow sustainably and will work with participating commercial banks to provide suitable financing services to partner agribusinesses.

Establishing contractual raw materials supply with farmers and improving product quality are all under the projects provisions.

The grant will be executed within an eight years time frame.

Free Internet Access for Earth

One of the most challengers Farmers have is connectivity as their locality are remote and communication is a barrier and an obstacle to their daily activities.

Farmers try to keep up with technological advancements and communicate effectively with access to timely

information which has a co-relating  impact on productivity. The much needed information like weather, seeds, market prices and potential markets are some issues apart from the many which Farmers need to have access to at any point in time.

Mostly Farmers are remotely located and most communication providers do not have the infrastructure to allow for such services to reach farming communities. One of the main reasons why network providers shy away from this localities is because of the immense cost involved in set up and maintaining such services.

But there is a new project which has been developed by Media Development Investment Fund  to provide free access to internet data through wifi, made available effectively to all parts of the world. It is called the "OUTERNET" which could be the solution farmers are waiting for.

This project is said to be made available in 2015.

More information on the project can be viewed through wikipedia

Floods Devastate Fiji Farmers

Climate change is taking it toll on small island nations in the Pacific and the changing weather patterns is causing alot of problems to our nation and particularly the farmers of Fiji.

Dalo Plantation under water (source mininfo)

Last week Fiji faced a tropical depression and we farmers have lost alot through the effects of heavy rain leading to flooding.

In the next few days Agronet will be publish an article on the effects of the flood on the dalo root.

Not only we dalo farmers are affected but also poultry farmers as well.

Please do leave your comments or views on climate change effects on farmers below in the comment box.

Thanks
Andrew Weleilakeba

Coloi Youths Move Inland

Coloi youths are a group of farmers in Sawakasa, Tailevu North and their main crop is Kava. These youths face challenges daily and a significant one is the distance to travel to their farm lands. The distance from the village to their farm is around  70km and it is unrealistic to travel there daily.

the farm shelter which needs to be worked on to provide the comfort

 Team Leader Te Navila has organised their plans for the year and setting targets to have better houses to ensure the youths live in comfort after a hard days work. He made a review on their farms and found that these youths are lured back into the village to attend to village obligations and thus loose focus on their farms. The immediate needs identified were  access to farm to be cleared and maintained, accommodation to be improved, and each youth to have own shelter by the end of the year.

youths meeting to better their farming activities for 2014

In the kava plantation weed controlling 

Youths Trained on Dalo Harvesting

Dalo planting and harvesting is part of subsistence farming in Fiji and any youth brought up in a farm would obviously know the trick of the trade. But for commercial farmers it is important that it is done the right way. Samu believes that if youths are to be lured into farming they need to be introduced into farming at a very early age with hands on experience. Here we see that harvesting stirs alot of interest among these youths as the crop are ready for the market and all are calculating the value one bundle can fetch!

Samu teaching youths of the clan

A group of youths who are mostly cousins from a clan in the village of Navuso took time off from their daily routine to learn from Samu (experienced farmer) on how to harvest Dalo for the local market. Samu has been in the trade as a farmer for over 25years.

The youths are lucky to have an experienced teacher to teach them on this skill. It may seem just like another dalo harvest but the fact is that would be youths are introduced to farming experiences at the perfect age.

Drain Maintenance Challenges Youths

In the Central Eastern part of Viti Levu, rain drops every day and then. For farmers rain assists us tremendously in irrigating crops but to only to an extent, when too much it causes alot of problems. Ploughing flat lands becomes hard and drains are waterlogged.

Within the area of Nausori a group of youths have been challenged with the water-logs in their farm fields causing rot to crops and its becomes breeding places for unwanted insects and pests. A youth member of this group who call the "Veitacini Farmers" named Masi was caught on camera cleaning the  problem drains.

Upon interview Masi mentioned that the issue with drains was just recent and it never used to bother them.
In the past year, government through the department of works used to dredge the Rewa river which runs close to their farm and this has stopped. There are no funds allocated by the government to cater for this vital works which has a correlating effect to farm fields. They have to resort to physical maintenance which is quite time consuming and demands alot of labor and energy.

This task will continue as they struggle with water until the dredging and drain maintenance will resume.

Rip Logs Cut Costs

A group of youths from Naitutu Village in Tailevu have assisted youths in the Districts of Namalata building their homes at a very low cost. The Youths led by their Uncle Save are hopping from villages to settlements, and farms ripping timber to construct farmhouse for these youths.

These youths who are basically subsistence farmers do not have much capital to afford a home loan or even a regular income to buy building materials. Thanks to Save and his saw-milling brigade who have provided a service to their community which is of immense value.

Youths are now able to build their homes way way cheaper than what the hardware offers. Timber is very expensive and it dominates majority of a home building budget. Through these team of youths, they have ripped logs which are readily available in the forests.

Below is a snap-video of them ripping a Mahogany Tree which is an ideal choice for timber in tropical homes.

click to watch:  http://youtu.be/3vqXPjXf1qk

Please post your comments below in the box.

Women start to do Organics!

Organic farm project

Luke Rawalai
Saturday, February 08, 2014

WOMEN of Korotubu in Macuata have embarked on an organic farming project funded by Global Environment Facility in conjunction with World Wide Fund for Nature.

Korotubu Village Soqosoqo Vakamarama head Emele Naikabe said they were using manure and byproducts from their village piggery to make an organic nursery farm.

Mrs Naikabe said vegetable seedlings and cuttings were often developed at the nursery before they were transplanted to farms in the village.

"This is a good way of promoting good health among our people through the food they eat," she said.

"At the same time we are recycling and reusing the byproducts of our piggery farm instead of polluting the environment.

"We the women's group in Korotubu believe that we can all work together for the conservation of our environment."

(Source: Fiji Times)

Vanuatu Kava a Potential Export Commodity

Kava or Piper methysticum is a crop of the Western Pacific and is widely used as a ceremonial beverage for centuries. It is a crop that demands aging for maturity as some plants take for at least 4 years then its ready for harvest. The potency of the kava depends mainly on soil type, weather and the number of years it has been grown for.

In Vanuatu kava is an integral part of their daily lives as it has been used as a substitute for crops like cocoa and copra which have an unstable price, whereas kava price remains to be consistent. Most farmers in Malekula Island in Vanuatu farm Kava to be sold as green kava for 200 Vatu per kg. In the village of Mae alone on the northern part of Malekula Island a total of 16 farmers have an estimate of 60 tonnes ready for harvest. A few weeks ago I visited the farmers to train them on how to add value to this crop so as to reap a maximum return on this long term crop. 

The kava market  is mainly Santo and Port Vila but the farmers always complain that buyers often cheat them by not paying total sale price thus discouraging them to sell. As it is there is alot of matured kava ready but farmers do not agree with the market price and conditions. Upon enlightening them on the value adding of kava from green to dry, the farmers are eager to take this on and try to export dry kava through a local exporter. Even though there is a kava exporter in Santo the farmers still feel that their produce are sold undervalued. 

Mae Kava farmer Kaloris Mone in total has over 1600 kava stumps of which 800 are 7 years old. In calculation of this 800  kava stump it can average a weight of 30 Kg thus can give a yield of around 24 tonnes earning him 4.8 million vatu. 

Adding value to this commodity is not as hard as one may think as Nivans thought that it was pretty complicated process. It will only take 2 weeks for kava to be 100% dry and ready for sale to exporters. This extra work could earn them over 400% more from a kg compared to selling them green. It was good to see the smiling faces of the farmers when they were told the potential their crop has as an export commodity.

Social Media Reporter in Agriculture-My Story

Background

Farming was the first industry to be established in this world and remains to be very important to Humans as for survival and this is confirmed through the life of Adam in the Bible. 

Fiji is blessed with a tropical weather and fertile soil but only a minority regard farming as a lucrative venture to find a career in it. The Fiji flag has even depicted agriculture on it.

I grew up in a small dairy farm on the outskirts of Korovou Town in Tailevu which was milking a little over 20 heifer daily. It was quite a distant to walk from the milk shed to the next serviced road where trucks cart  milk to the Rewa Dairy factory. 

The farm had to process cream through a cream separator machine and only have to get them to the road once a week. During weekends and school holidays we normally help in carrying this heavy cans, but it was fun.

Experience
From an early age I had an experience of farming which

youths of the network planting dalo

 was mainly dairy but personally I had a passion for crops. I always had  vegetables and root crops growing around our farm house and even when moving to Suva had a vegetable plot behind my flat. 

With all the passion in farming, I am now I am an executive of our young farmers network in the central

division and currently constructing a farm filed school where we can share our experiences with youths around the area. 

I  have an 8 acre land which i am farming organic vegetables and raising seedlings for customers. I started farming way back in 2007 but had issues with land and have decided to have my own leased land now. Just last week I started negotiations again with landowners to acquire another 20 acres for an organic ginger project and this is progressing well.

Pacific Youths in Organic Agriculture

In my efforts to attain organic accreditation I applied to attend a workshop which was conducted by the Pacific Organic & Ethical Trade Community (POETCOM). This workshop was in Port Villa in Vanuatu where it basically introduced organic principles and farming methods. This was an informative seminar and I did gain alot from the meet in broadening my knowledge and skills in organic farming. 

ICT in Agriculture
My view of  farming was very isolated until I had a call from Secretariat of the Pacific Community(SPC) in November of 2012 inviting me to attend a workshop in using web tools in agriculture. At first i asked myself,"ICT for agriculture", what it this?

Web 2.0 Training @USP 2012

At this training I was the only Farmer  to be among participants which was dominated by agricultural officers. Through this training I was able to acquire skills in using the internet tools for agricultural . I was amazed as most information I needed from extension officers were just a click away. This is the power of the internet! I saw the potential to increase my knowledge in farming and also explore ways to run farming as a business for income generation.




Blogging
I began to blog away the activities that I was doing at my farm and start to share my farming experience with the world. To blog is quite an effort as it takes time,money and commitment to be posting regularly on my blog. At times when I am fatigue I don't even have the strength to write a post on an important issue which is due for posting. 

Blogging is a free tool on the web and in the Pacific its usage in agriculture is insignificant. Through my blog viewers have related for advice in farming and also shared of their experiences. This has motivated me to continue blogging even-though the challenges I face as the benefits outweigh the costs.


In early September, SPC  organised a regional meet for youths in agriculture training them in web tools also I participated and was asked to present on what I did. This training was supported by The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).   Through my presentation the Permanent Secretary for Agriculture Mr Ropate Ligairi was present and commended my efforts and the  farmers group on what we were doing. I was surprised a week later when Mr Ligairi did a surprise visit to my farm to check out for the group and the farm filed school which we were building.


To be visited by such a man of authority is overwhelming and rarely happens and to me as a farmer it shows that in our little worlds we can be recognised if we continue to work hard and smart everyday. Although the work I do for our network is voluntary, I have faith that it is not to waste as our vision for engaging youths in agriculture will be achieved come tomorrow.

Through this blogging I am now training myself to be a social media reporter in agriculture and gaining experience each day. Through these skills acquired our network of farmers are also introduced to social media, thanks be to Web 2.0 fro development training .  I saw the COP19 social media boot camp advertised and applied through my abstract and was given an opportunity to be part of this learning event. 

I will be attending COP19 Social Media Bootcamp to learn and expand my knowledge base in social media, learn from experienced social media reporters, network with these reporters. Social media is new and at the moment and its use in the Pacific is merely on social entertainment/networking, it’s not effectively used to boost economic development. And this is why  in attending this meeting I will be able to assist our network and our country, and the Pacific region to change the way youths use social media for and the perception that it’s not for fun only but rather for agriculture as a career. 

I never thought that farming could bring me this far, now I am a social media reporter in agriculture!

Fiji Ginger on High Demand

There is something special when the world talks about ginger and its health benefits when consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice.

Fiji’s ginger is renowned for its unique flavor and high in oleoresins but low in fiber. Recently the Australian quarantine authorities have given us Fiji the green-light for our ginger to resume entry into their market. Fiji’s farmers and exporters are confident that it will gain wide acceptance and demand in the Australian market.

Agronet has prepared for it organic ginger planting material for 2014. We are starting with 1 chain which will have enough planting material for 2 acres. To my knowledge there is only 2 farms in Fiji which have been certified for organic ginger. 
This seedling chain will be used by the whole network in our experimentation of organic manures like seaweed, fish oil, and poultry manure. It will be a learning ground for all the farmers in organic ginger farming in the Central Division.

I caught up with Mr Kaiming, the ginger exporter who owns Kaiming Agro in Navua, and he mentioned to me that he demands 200 tonnes of organic ginger by 2014. At the moment only 20% of his export demand is met. He suggested to work with a group of farmers to farm to collectively achieve his tonnage demand.

My bid to partake in this business has triggered me to purchase  an extra 20 acres which is capable to farm and expected 20 chains with a minimum of 1.5 tonnes per chain.