Increasing quality and range of exports





The Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s (SPC’s) Land Resources Division (LRD) has embarked on an ambitious pilot project which sees it working directly with the private sector for the first time.
The principal aim of the European Union-funded Facilitating Agricultural Commodity Trade (FACT) pilot project is to sustainably increase the quality and range of exports of Pacific agriculture and forestry products.
According to LRD Director Aleki Sisifa, this will be achieved through assisting and transforming selected commercial ventures into export-orientated, demand-driven enterprises that will consistently supply overseas markets with competitive products.
An independent technical advisory group comprising representatives from the private sector, the University of the South Pacific and the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commission has selected 15 agricultural enterprises from Fiji Islands, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
Each enterprise will receive assistance through the FACT project, including Balthan (Western) Ltd in Fiji Islands and Direct Management Ltd in Solomon Islands.
Balthan, an exporter of root crops based in Suva, is one of  five Fijian enterprises selected. With assistance from FACT, Balthan is extending its agro-processing operations to Vanua Levu, providing marginalised farmers with a vital outlet for their produce.
Initially, Balthan’s new facility in Labasa will process plantain (vudi), cocoyam (dalo ni tana), cassava and taro (dalo), with operations expected to commence in December 2009.
This venture will generate a consistent income for local farmers, providing a welcome shift for families in an area where marketing of produce has always been a considerable challenge.
In Solomon Islands, FACT is working with four enterprise partners, including Direct Management Limited (DML), a cocoa exporting company supporting communities by providing an alternative source of livelihood.
FACT is helping DML construct a shed for cocoa bean storage and providing technical assistance to DML’s network of cocoa producers to improve supply and quality.
Margaret Ilala, DML’s director, believes FACT’s assistance has been timely, accelerating the company’s plans to boost its cocoa supply and marketing efforts.
FACT production technician Sanfred Smith is now working with DML’s potential cocoa suppliers on improving field sanitation to increase their production.
The FACT team is tasked with revitalising the existing cocoa plantations, bringing them back into production and tackling black pod disease.
Farmers have undergone training on cocoa field management under a programme known as integrated pest and disease management (IPDM).
Community elder and veteran farmer David Kebu expressed his resolute support for FACT training initiatives. “I wish that this training had been conducted some 20 years ago when I had more strength in me so that I could have reaped more benefits,” he said.
Previously, Kebu harvested 6–8 sound pods per plant, with the rest riddled with black pod disease. Today, working with FACT, the situation has been transformed, and he harvests 35–40 quality pods per plant. This translates to more income and, as Kebu is a supplier for DML, an increase in the supply of beans.
Meanwhile, Dr John Konam, a former SPC Plant Pathologist now working with the AusAID Cocoa Livelihood Improvement Project (CLIP), believes FACT’s engagement with DML has initiated remarkable improvements for the cocoa industry as a whole.
“FACT started IPDM in Honiara and this has really brought about a rethink in the communities as far as cocoa farming is concerned. Now under CLIP we are taking the idea of IPDM to all farmers with the aim of increasing production of quality beans.”
The fair trade marketplace is expanding rapidly. With big players such as Cadbury, Tate and Lyle, and most recently Nestle, integrating fair trade commodities into their product mix, fairly traded products are leaping onto mainstream supermarket shelves.
However, Pacific enterprises and organisations have limited access to this market, being impeded by a range of challenges, including the current certification process prescribed by the Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International.
FACT is collaborating with Australian National University postdoctoral fellow, Dr Anna Hutchens, who is conducting a two-year research project on fair trade in the Asia Pacific region.
This will include an alternative governance project identifying the variety of ways in which enterprise and farming groups organise themselves in the Pacific.
The project includes a period of data collection, comprehensive analysis of six enterprises in Fiji Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, and briefings on project findings for the World Fair Trade Organisation, Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International and key ethical buyers. 
FACT envisages the resulting data will inform international stakeholders on the unique challenges faced in the Pacific and facilitate a shift in fair trade standards, a crucial first step for Pacific producers to increase their market access.
By targeting established commercial agriculture and forestry sectors, FACT hopes to increase exports, particularly in value added industries, and also provide a much needed stimulus to development of the rural subsistence sector.
FACT Team Leader Dr Lex Thomson says, “The case studies generated will be used by SPC and others to disseminate information to the wider community and encourage the adoption of best practice techniques by Pacific Islands growers and exporters, bolstering bottom line performance in three ways—for people, the planet and profit.”