SWEET potato farmers in North Guadalcanal are fortunate to receive vital information from agricultural experts on how to grow healthy sweet potato gardens.
Last week, a team of agricultural experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock’s Research Unit and the Solomon Islands National University’s Faculty of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry conducted a one-day training session in Tetere, North Guadalcanal.
The training is part of an Australian government-funded project through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Its primary aim is to provide farmers with pathogen-tested sweet potatoes that are free from viruses and diseases.
According to the trainers, ten samples of different types of sweet potatoes are currently in Fiji for cleaning and pathogen testing. Once the samples are free from diseases and viruses, they will be sent back to the Solomon Islands for distribution among farmers.
While waiting for the sweet potatoes to complete pathogen testing, farmers are encouraged to use the nursery transplanting technique to produce healthy sweet potato vines.
Among other advantages of nursery transplanting, it allows farmers to select the best sweet potato vines for transplanting. It also saves time and energy by enabling farmers to take vine cuttings close to their sweet potato gardens.
During the training, sweet potato farmers were introduced to examples of different types of nurseries, and it was concluded that the open-air nursery bed is the best option. It incurs no expense and can be easily constructed.
The trainers also help farmers identify virus- and disease-infected sweet potato vines and manage the spread of these unhealthy vines.
At the end of the training, four sites were identified for monitoring and assessment purposes. These sites will serve as examples of virus-free and disease-free sweet potato gardening and as models for best practices in sweet potato cultivation.
The participants in the training have expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the invaluable information and session. They recommended that, in the future, gardening tools be supplied to participants as well.
The training concluded with an emphasis on fostering partnership and communication between the farmers and the trainers going forward.
Source: Government Communication Unit
