BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
A Taro training workshop for rural farmers was successfully held at Nariekeara Village in West Are’are, Malaita Province.
Forty (40) participants (men and women) from Communities within Ward twenty-four (24) attended the two-day workshop that was funded by the USAID scale program under Winrock, and facilitated by Goshen Enterprise from 16 to 17 June 2023 at the Village Community Hall.
The topics covered under the training include:
- Taro organic farming and standard requirements for export.
- Overview of organic taro training and why organic taro training is important.
- Historical background of taro as a cash crop.
- Biblical Agriculture principles and why important with regards to business.
- Basic soil management, soil selection site, and basic land use planning.
- Farm planning, open plot traditional farming/semi-commercial farming.
- Open field farming planning, planting of root crops.
- Planting, soil selection, and a healthy sucker for seedlings for nursery.
- Caring for your Taro farm, keeping the soil cold to able the plants fresh.
- Harvesting, selecting which to harvest, must be ready enough. And also using the right tools for harvesting.
- Disadvantages of open field farming, environmental issues related nowadays.
Malaita’s Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) for Ward 24, Honourable Peter Clay Taraumae told ENVIRONMENT MEDIA that the workshop was an eye-opener and a great opportunity for all of them to learn new skills, knowledge, and opportunities and also how to add value to improve their taro farms.
“During the training demonstration and practical sessions, participants learned how to set up nursery plots, plot lower and sloppy level sites, a mixture of different soil compost, and introduce crop planting techniques.
“On the final day, the participants have undergone mindset training to improve their minds to think more positively and add value to the new knowledge, skills, and opportunities they have learned from the taro workshop.
“The skills will also allow them to make and sell surplus floral to earn extra income to support their families and livelihood,” Honourable Peter said.
He said taro planting is a routine activity for rural women and men farmers in the Western region of Are’are.
He added: “At the end of two day workshop the participants managed to establish a Taro Out-Growers Association and Committee for Ward 24 in West Are’are.”
“As MPA responsible for ward 24, acknowledge the land owners of Nariekeara Community, chiefs, church, and community leaders and people. Also surrounding all surrounding communities from Oterama to Siunaeke.
ENVIRONMENT MEDIA understands that the Taro training workshop was initially requested and discussed with Goshen Enterprise (Malaita based) in 2021 but due to financial issues, the training could not be held.