A workshop to enhance skills and knowledge in the fields of production, processing and saving of vegetable seeds and floral biology of selected crops will benefit many local farmers of Solomon Islands.
The Training Workshop on Vegetable Seed Production is being coordinated by Dr. Ravi Joshi who is Coordinator of the Asian Vegetable Resource Development Centre (AVRDC) in the Solomons.AVRDC is one of the very prestigious international agricultural research institutions famous for research, development and improvement of tropical vegetable crops.
The training workshop includes members form the Ministry of Agriculture, NGO's and local farmers from the provinces.
Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan), H.E. George Chan, said ROC (Taiwan) devote its efforts continuously to introduce advanced agricultural knowledge and skills to Solomon Islands in order to provide quality and continuity of food supply.
He said the achievement of "rich supplies of vegetables and fruits in the markets" are the achievements of hard work from government officials, donors, NGOs like AVRDC and local farmers.
The "week-long meaningful event" is part of a four-year project, Integrated Crop Management Package for Sustainable Smallholder Gardens, in Solomon Islands with the support of Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), AVRDC-SI.
This involves researchers and development specialists in the disciplines of crop and soil management, socio-economics, extension, plant protection and plant breeding.
The goal of the project is to increase the economic status and potential income generation opportunities for Solomon Islands' farmers by development and promoting integrated and improved crop management packages.