Farming communities in Samoa benefit from sustainably producing nutritious and healthy crops in the island’s lowland areas. But what happens with the produce after harvesting?  A study was conducted recently by FAO which profiled the farmers’ current production and marketing activities aiming at increasing their income.

FAO, through its Forest and Protected Area Management (FPAM) project, has been working, with the Government of Samoa in establishing of three Community Conservation Areas on the island of Savai’i in Samoa. The project aims to assists farmers in the project areas with the sustainable production and marketing of vegetables and fruits.

Project activities included setting up demonstration farms and training farmers on increasing productivity of nutritious food. The study followed up on these activities and was conducted to identify ways that enable farmers to access markets that match their capacities, production, investment, and risk profiles. It involved the cooperation with 59 farmers, 28 shops and markets and 16 tourism resorts and tourism fales. FAO FPAM Samoa Project Coordinator , Sami Lemalu explained. “Results showed that currently farming activities are at subsistence level with only surplus crop entering the market instead of growing crops solely for sale”.  

In addition to the project’s recent support for new farming techniques and increased varieties of vegetables farmers still need coaching and mentoring in smartly applying this new techniques and knowledge and prepare farmers to change their growing practice. Farmers are risk averse with few investing capital in their farms and many sticking to a limited range of local crops.

The study revealed that 54% of all farm produce is consumed by the farming family or within the community. A further 22% is sold at the farmers own roadside stall. This means that 76% of the produce is marketed at the farm. After domestic consumption produce is sold on an irregular basis in a range of outlets including local shops (5%), the local market (7%), the main supermarket (4%) and a long established commercial Taro market (5%). Only  a very small percentage (2%) enters the supply market for hotels and restaurants.

These are very short value chain markets and often provide the highest return to the farmer and the lowest cost to the purchaser. However this produce, sold at what is effectively a retail price to the farmer, struggles to enter the larger volume wholesale markets on a consistent basis. Farmers would benefit by understanding their cost and pricing structures better to allow for more commercial sales. The benefit to the farmer is the ability to earn more cash.

The FAO consultant Simon Cole provided a list of recommendations for Savaii farmers to link to the market in a more structured manner. “It’s not about doing more work, but to work a little smarter in order to gain higher returns”.

Establishing conservation areas in the Pacific
The activities are supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) – Pacific Alliance for Sustainability – through the Forest and Protected Area Management project. Its global environmental objective is to strengthen biodiversity conservation and reduce forest land degradation. The FAO/GEF Forestry and Protected Area Management project covers Fiji, Niue, Samoa and Vanuatu.
 
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