Nabilah S
Youths in Savaii were given the Applied Entrepreneurial Horticulture Program.The University of the South Pacific (USP-Samoa) and the Waikato Institute of Technology (WINTEC) have finished a 12-week course for young farmers on horticulture, food safety, and setting up a farming business using these skills.
The program, according to organisers, is in line with government aims to support communities by engaging young farmers in attempts to establish resilient communities, and increase food safety, food security, and overall economic growth.
The training is part of a project called “Improved Livelihoods through Increased Protection of the Premium Cocoa Value Chain,” funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).
The goal of the project as a whole, which began in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, was to: is to make the premium cocoa sector more stable and protect it, strengthen links between agriculture and tourism, give structured training to young people so they can find new ways to make money, and encourage more women to take part in both value chains.
Twenty young people from farming families in Savaii completed the 12-week course at the Va-i-Moana Hotel in Asau and were given certificates.
Trainers say that participants learned about horticulture, food safety, and business skills that would help them start their farm businesses, make money, and help their families.
A big part of their training was field trips to farms and agribusinesses on Savaii Island, which helped them learn more about the real world.
During the graduation ceremony, a select group of students, including top student Tupu, performed a live display of products designed during their training.
The preparation of banana chips was one of these options.
Mr Keith Budd of SPS Biota NZ and the project’s primary contractor urged the graduates to learn from other farmers to continue developing their farming and business skills.
The program is grateful to the Government of Samoa, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Savaii Koko, and KVAConsult Ltd, and other patners for their help during the 12-week course and for making this first training cohort a success.
This is one of the two training programs that will be paid for by the project. The next course will be held at the USP Alafua campus in early 2023. Timelines and specifics are still being finalised.
When the next group is finalised in early 2023, more information about it will be released.
