The community of Bunlap, which a Kustomary Area in South Pentecost, Vanuatu is building its capacity and diversity in agroforestry production thanks to the Integrated Sustainable land and Coastal Management (ISLCM)/FAO project.

In the second phase of the Tropical Cyclone (TC) Harold Livelihood Recovery Program for South Pentecost, the project team carried out a supervision mission to Ranwas, which is located in the Bunlap Zone.

A total of 516 people have benefited from the emergency Farm Field School program and through the establishment of two agroforestry nurseries, which have helped to improve and diversify the diets of the beneficiaries.

The project team analyzed 224 plots belonging to 30 farmers and identified 13 root crop species with the total number of cultivated varieties in communities ranging from 74 to 261.

Surprisingly, villages with high population density have shorter fallow periods but higher yields. In both zones, women possess greater traditional knowledge. In villages with high population density there are signs of soil fertility reduction and mineral depletion but no signs of significant decrease in soil fertility after the first year of cultivation, indicating that root crop species remove limited amounts of nitrogen and minerals per year.