Pacific Island

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Crop Production: agroforestry, alley cropping, contour farming, cropping systems
• Education and Training: demonstration, extension, focus group, mentoring, networking
• Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns, business planning, community-supported agriculture, farmers' markets/farm stands, grant making
• Pest Management: mulches - general, mulches - living
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, dryland farming, permaculture
• Soil Management: organic matter
• Sustainable Communities: leadership development, partnerships, sustainability measures

The College of Micronesia (COM) serves 3 nations and 6 island groups over an area larger than the continental United States, with 1 Sustainable Agriculture, Research, and Education (SARE) Coordinator. There are significant geographic barriers in promoting and coordinating SARE activities in the islands. Both the University of Guam (UOG) and COM SARE Coordinators are nearing retirement.

There is a crucial need to build a network of trained Sustainable Agriculture professionals across these islands in the region, with a peer to peer communications network on island sustainable agriculture issues. In the trainings, a goal of increasing WSARE grant applications and educational materials usage on the islands can be addressed.

This multi-institution, multi-state project between UOG and COM aims to recruit, train and support a network of agricultural professionals from seven islands to increase their expertise in sustainable agriculture. Participating islands include Guam, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Kosrae, Yap, Marshall Islands, and Palau. Project Co-investigators have identified associate coordinators for Guam and Pohnpei and will recruit island WSARE liaisons with assistance of Extension Directors from Chuuk, Kosrae, Yap, Palau, and Marshall Islands.

After on-island tasks (conference calls, online training, ag professional survey) leading to the selection of one or more representatives, a one-week Sustainable Agriculture Liaison’s Conference will be held on Guam. Key topics include; WSARE grants, sustainable agriculture principles and practices, UOG-SARE curriculum development, and national online resources. Liaison post conference support will include seed money, monthly conference calls, a bi-monthly newsletter, and coaching in developing a WSARE grant for each island.

Introduction:
Since the mid 1990’s, there has been a clear articulated voice coming out of the Western Pacific that the College of Micronesia is too geographically challenged as it serves 3 distinct nations and 6 major island groups over an area larger than the continental United States for one SARE coordinator to effectively service all the islands’. WSARE heard this again during the 2007 Sub-regional Conference on Guam, and again during the 2014 Pacific Agriculture Infrastructure Conference. This proposal addresses this issue directly by creating a network of trained island WSARE liaisons for the Guam and Micronesia to extend the research and outreach efforts of WSARE.

This multi-institution, multi-state project between UOG and COM aims to recruit, train and support a network of agricultural professionals from seven islands to increase their expertise in sustainable agriculture. Participating islands include Guam, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Kosrae, Yap, Marshall Islands, and Palau. Project Co-investigators have identified associate coordinators for Guam and Pohnpei and will recruit island WSARE liaisons with assistance of Extension Directors from Chuuk, Kosrae, Yap, Palau, and Marshall Islands.

After on-island tasks (conference calls, online training, ag professional survey) are completed leading to the selection of one or more representatives from each island, a one-week Sustainable Agriculture Liaison’s Conference will be held on Guam. Key topics include:
WSARE grants, sustainable agriculture principles and practices, UOG-SARE curriculum development, and national online resources.
Liaison post conference support will include seed money, monthly conference calls, a bi-monthly newsletter, and coaching in developing a WSARE grant for each island.
Factors that influence the implementation and success of the project are the collaboration efforts between UOG and COM and the recruitment of WSARE liaisons from the islands’ Land Grant or agricultural professional communities. At this point it’s not possible to identify WSARE site liaisons. If an island chooses not to participate, funds will be used to bring a second person from a participating island. These people will be identified from a pool agricultural professionals from each island and who are interested and motivated to undertake the program tasks like completing an on-line sustainable agriculture course and conduct a needs assessment in their islands.
Based on the Pacific Sub-regional Conference, success in motivation, participant preparation and coordination, a peer-to-peer monthly communications (teleconferences and newsletters), a network on island sustainable agriculture issues with a goal of increasing WSARE grant applications from the Western Pacific will be run for the project duration.

Objective 1: Recruit potential candidates from a pool of agricultural professionals from Guam, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Kosrae, Yap, Marshall Islands, and Palau to become WSARE liaisons.

Upon initiation of the project, Land Grant staff and agricultural professionals will be notified of the project. Interested participants with approval from Extension Directors will complete the online SARE National Continuing Education Course 1, Sustainable Agriculture: Basic Principles and Concept Overview at: http://courses.sare.org/c1_1_1.htm, also course 3: Agricultural Ecosystem Management will also be utilized in the program trainings. From those completing the online course, one will be selected to conduct an island agricultural professional survey, similar to the island assessments conducted for the 2007 WSARE Sub-regional conference held on Guam, prior to attending the Guam Liaisons’ conference. The liaisons will be supported in these survey efforts through regular teleconferences.

Objective 2: Train WSARE liaisons to increase their knowledge in sustainable agriculture and the WSARE program.

After on-island tasks are completed leading to the selection of one or more representatives, a one-week Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator’s Conference will be held on Guam. Key topics included WSARE grants, sustainable agriculture principles,?practices, and SARE curriculum development by UOG. The UOG-SARE curriculum consists of many subjects such as farm planning, agroforestry and sloping land agriculture, permaculture and organic agriculture principals, soil and water conservation, plant propagation and small scale fruit and vegetable nurseries, irrigation and water management, chicken tractors, small-scale poultry production, mulching and sheet mulching, raised beds, container gardening, composting, fruit tree windbreaks, and others topics of participants interests. Liaisons will also be taken on field visits/farm tours of past and recently funded SARE grants?

Objective 3:Build and operate a one-year peer-to-peer communications network of newly trained WSARE liaisons with a focus on island sustainable agriculture issues.

Monthly liaison conference calls will be held throughout the program to coach the participants through these tasks, and bi-monthly Sustainable Agriculture newsletters will be disseminated highlighting the islands’ program activities.

Objective 4: Increase WSARE awareness, grant applications, and use of SARE resources in the Western Pacific.

Upon returning to their islands, each liaison will conduct a needs assessments, conduct SARE grant promotion workshop, and write a PDP or professional producer grant, and set up a sustainable agriculture demonstration. Following the conference $2,000 seed money subcontracts will be issued to WSARE liaisons to implement a WSARE demonstration site in their island. Upon completion and approval of the subcontract application, participants will receive an initial $1,000 for a demonstration implementation and the final $1,000 on providing photographic evidence of the demonstration in place. The WSARE demonstration will be utilized as a tool in WSARE outreach.