Report
Vegetable Protective Cropping and Contractual Farming in Samoa
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
2018
Abstract
Samoa is a small island developing state located in the South Pacific with a total population of just over 195 000 people, most of whom are concentrated on the two main islands of Upolu and Savai'i. Agriculture is a critical component of the Samoan economy with more than 97% of households participating in some form of agricultural production, and 19% being reliant on the sector for their key source of income (SBS, 2016). The vast majority of Samoa's agricultural production is based on horticultural crops grown for subsistence or home consumption, with only around 4.4% of households producing crops for sale (SBS, 2016). Overall horticultural productivity is dominated by five key crops, taro, coconut, cocoa, breadfruit and banana, with 42% of the production systems considered organic in nature. Given the importance of the horticulture sector, the Samoan Government and International donors have long sought to diversify and expand horticultural production in Samoa. While much of this effort has been driven by concerns over food and nutritional security (AAACP, 2009), declining vegetable production in recent years has further re-forced the need for action (SBS, 2015). The 2009 Samoan Fruit and Vegetable Strategy created much needed focus, leading to several horticultural enterprise development initiatives. Poutasi Gardens is one of the few such initiatives that, combing production intensification, an emphasis of sustainable production practice, co-operative based community engagement, innovative market development, and sound postharvest handling practice. In this case study, we discuss the challenges that Poutasi Gardens needed to overcome, the benefits of adopting a more holistic approach to smallholder farming development, and key learnings.
Details
- Title
- Vegetable Protective Cropping and Contractual Farming in Samoa
- Authors
- Shukrullah Sherzad (Author) - Food and Agriculture Organization Sub Regional Office for the Pacific Islands, SamoaSteven J R Underhill (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
- Publisher
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- Date published
- 2018
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2018. Some rights reserved. This work is available under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO licence
- Organisation Unit
- Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99451403002621
- Output Type
- Report
Metrics
53 File views/ downloads
282 Record Views