Farmers

The harvesting bins will assist farmers by minimizing post-harvest damage and loss of produce harvested for export.

Loss and damage of harvested commodities at the farm and during transportation to cleaning and processing facilities is one of the major challenges and prevailing issues for local produce prepared for export.

This is mainly due to lack of appropriate containers or bins used to transport produce from farm to processing and cleaning facilities.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Laaulialemalietoa Polataivao Fossie Schmidt said the AgriTouch app is designed and named by farmers.

Speaking at the launch yesterday, Laauli said the app was built by Tooa Brown of Brown Consult, an innovative young Samoan woman who is currently working for the Ministry.

“Therefore, we can be proud to say that it is 100% made in Samoa.”

The app was launched in partnership with the UNDP, UNESCO and the Indian High Commission to New Zealand yesterday.

The tools include bush knives, drainage spades, planting stick, pruning saws, sharpening tool, secateurs, pig fencing and chainsaws.

Savali newspaper reports the tools were distributed based on the number of individual farmers registered under the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience – Enhancing the Climate Resilience Coastal Resources and Communities Project (PPCR ECR), funded by the World Bank.

The pilot programme include 680 beneficiaries of the Serendi Coco Samoa organization and 147 beneficiaries for the Women in Business Development Inc (WIBDI)

In a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua, Samoa's Parliament Speaker Leaupepe Taimaaiono Toleafoa Faafisi spoke highly of the Belt and Road Initiative and thanked China for its support to the island nation's economic growth. 

"The Belt and Road Initiative is very good and we thank China for raising this initiative, which is to promote the global trade cooperation and especially good for the South Pacific island countries like Samoa," the parliament speaker said. 

The Ministry of Agriculture and the Samoa Tourism Authority plan to launch an agri-tourism park which would provide "green space for locals and an educational experience for tourists."

But Afamasaga Tole'afoa, chairman of the Samoa Farmer's Association, said the private sector was better equipped to take on such projects.

He said the government should be involved offering technical advice, attending to agronomic issues, helping farmers look after their crops and defend against pests and diseases, but should not be investing money in new business ideas.

One of the aims of the training is to build and enhance the participants’ capacity to produce open pollinated seeds so that they can help train other farmers.

The Principal Advisory Officer at Crops Division, Tommy Tuuamalii presented some of the challenges faced by the ministry.

Tuuamalii said one challenges is the lack of a standard procedure to effectively produce good quality seeds.

Farmers use hybrid seeds and there is also a limited availability of seeds after a cyclone or natural disasters.

The initiative is aimed at ensuring that all households and businesses, regardless of income level have access to and can effectively use the appropriate financial services they need.

“The objective of the loan scheme is to increase productive investments, productivity of low income families, export and living standards of families,” said Lemalu Ray Ah Liki, Managing Director of SCB.

“These are people who are unbanked and so not qualify for loans from ordinary lending sources but have the potential to improve their income earning capacity and quality of life,” he added.

"Postharvest is a major issue for Samoa, said Professor Steven Underhill, who is leading the project.

“Not only does it reduce smallholder farmers profit but it decreases the amount of fruit and vegetables available for sale to consumers.”

Last year, Prof Underhill and staff of the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (SROS) undertook an in-depth study of the level of postharvest losses in the central markets in Apia, as well as municipal markets throughout Upolu and Savaii.