Western Pacific Sustainable Agriculture Participatory Training Network: Eight islands, twelve trainings.

Project Overview

WESP19-003
Project Type: Enhanced State Grants
Funds awarded in 2019: $48,890.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2022
Host Institution Award ID: G330-20-W7505
Grant Recipient: University of Guam Cooperative Extension Service
Region: Western
State: Guam
Principal Investigator:
Dr. L. Robert (Bob) Barber, Jr.
Email
University of Guam Cooperative Extension Service
Co-Investigators:
Mark Acosta
Email
University of Guam, Cooperative Extension
Lawrence Duponcheel
Email
Northern Marianas College
Jackson Phillip
Email
College of Micronesia
Engly Ioanis
Email
College of Micronesia Land Grant Programmmm

Commodities

  • Fruits: avocados, bananas, citrus, figs, papaya, breadfruit, soursop, pomegranate, mulberry, mango, Spanish plum, dragonfruit
  • Vegetables: beans, cabbages, cucurbits, eggplant, greens (leafy), greens (lettuces), okra, peppers, sweet potatoes, taro, tomatoes
  • Additional Plants: ginger, herbs, trees, Nitrogen fixing trees and groundcovers, moringa, lemongrass, chaya
  • Animals: fish, poultry, swine
  • Animal Products: eggs, meat

Practices

  • Animal Production: animal protection and health, aquaculture, feed/forage, feed management, manure management, watering systems
  • Crop Production: agroforestry, alley cropping, conservation tillage, continuous cropping, contour farming, cover crops, cropping systems, crop rotation, fertilizers, food processing, forest farming, intercropping, irrigation, multiple cropping, municipal wastes, no-till, nurseries, nutrient cycling, nutrient management, organic fertilizers, seed saving, water management, water storage, windbreaks
  • Education and Training: demonstration, extension, farmer to farmer, focus group, mentoring, networking, study circle, technical assistance, workshop, online extension and outreach, agriculture networking, Pacific Islands
  • Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns, cooperatives, farm-to-restaurant, farmers' markets/farm stands, grant making, marketing management, new enterprise development, value added
  • Natural Resources/Environment: carbon sequestration, hedgerows, soil stabilization
  • Pest Management: biological control, biorational pesticides, botanical pesticides, chemical control, cultural control, mulches - general, mulches - living, mulching - vegetative, prevention
  • Production Systems: aquaponics, integrated crop and livestock systems, organic agriculture, permaculture, transitioning to organic, agroforestry, food forest, forest gardens
  • Soil Management: composting, green manures, organic matter
  • Sustainable Communities: social networks, urban agriculture

    Abstract:

    The U.S. Land Grant System reaches the three island nations (Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, and Republic of the Marshall Islands) served by the College of Micronesia (COM) with the three islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) (Saipan, Rota, and Tinian) served by The Northern Marianas College (NMC) and Guam served by the University of Guam (UOG). These are geographically isolated islands spread over a large area of the Pacific Ocean. There are significant barriers to promoting and coordinating SARE activities and trainings in these islands. Technical expertise is spread thin across these three institutions. Transportation costs have been a significant barrier to conducting sustainable agriculture and other trainings. In the most recent multi-state PDP enhanced state program grant, six WSARE island liaisons were trained (weekly 1-2 hour trainings) across these islands using the Zoom platform successfully on cellular phones, laptops, and desktop computers. This project will build on this effort by installing the needed equipment in a conference/class room to effectively deliver sustainable agriculture distance education trainings to groups of agriculture professionals and farmers on each island, simultaneously. This project will pilot using our regional expertise base to deliver multiple trainings across the islands travel-free. The project will equip a conference room with a smart screen, multi-directional microphone, and speakers to deliver a series of 12 sustainable agriculture trainings. Training topics are based on training needs identified in focus groups conducted during the previous year. 

    Year 1 Update:

    The "Pacific Islands" grant activities continued beyond its original time line.  This grant is to build on this previous (Pacific Island) grant's efforts and so was delayed in starting.  Just as our activities (initial meetings) were starting COVID19 hit shutting down our islands.  Initially our Extension programs were overwhelmed in addressing the direct community needs brought on by COVID19 and adapting to predominately online Extension delivery (a rapid acceleration of needed skill development for this project), and so this grant like many others was put on a virtual hold.  Preliminary efforts to restart this effort began in May of 2020 and the grant resumed full swing in November of 2020.  A no cost extension will be applied for following submission of this initial year report.

    Project objectives:

    Proposed:
    Quarter 1
    1. Set up of an orientation on eight island WSARE distance education conference centers. Orient the coordinators and educators on the expected participant recruitment levels, use of the WSARE distance education conference facility at their site, set the 12 month training schedule and sign needed MOU's for funds transfer.
    2. Purchase all required materials and supplies and contract needed training expertise.
    3. Set up distance education conference centers and conduct distance education training.
     
    Quarter 2 through 5
    4. Adapt or develop curriculum materials and conduct 12 monthly trainings and evaluations. Submit training curriculum materials and post workshop evaluations to the University of Guam.
     
    Quarter 5
    5. Conduct educator and coordinator focus group to assess what worked and what could be improved for future efforts and jointly develop final report to WSARE. Conduct a distance/online focus group/brainstorming session on next steps for collaborative grant application with each site's WSARE advisory members present.  A first for the Western Pacific.
     
    Year 1 Update:
    Objective 1
    1. Rebuild and expand the Islands' Liaison Teams.  The previous WSARE "Pacific Island" grant identified and trained 6 island WSARE  liaisons or co-coordinators for the island of Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae, Marshall Islands and Guam.  A key intent of this grant was to build on this effort.  In the time between the completion of the "Pacific Island" grant and this grant two of the liaisons (Marshall Islands and Kosrae) resigned from their positions.  So, an initial effort of this project was to work with the previous grants Land Grant staff to recruit replacement liaisons and expand the teams on each island by 2 to 3 more land grant professionals.  Also, we reached out to bring in new islands of Saipan and Palau.  Unfortunately at this point we have not been able to re-establish contact with the Marshall islands.  So, in this grant we are at currently at 7 islands (we may recruit a replacement in the coming months). 
    In a positive note, on Guam we were able to establish 2 new agricultural professional teams and training sites.  One funded by the grant (the UOG team and site is funded by UOG), at the Chamorro Land Trust Commission (CLTC) office (controls a significant portion of Guam's agricultural lands).  A second site was funded by the Southern Soil and Water Conservation District (SSWCD) and established at the Dededo Farmers' Cooperative Association of Guam's (FCAG) building at the Dededo Farmers' Market and the team comes from the SSWCD and FCAG Board of Directors.  These efforts took several months of regular (monthly and individual online meetings) with the different teams. 
    Due to delays from completing the "Pacific Islands" grant and then the onset of COVID19 we did not formally start these team re-building and expansion activities until May of 2020.  In September we began the evolving teams (starting with the liaisons) orientation to the project expectation for the liaisons to grow their team, and started the evaluation and approval of the planned equipment for all sites.  We made some modifications based on a more complete understanding with our islands' technical support staff and modified the equipment list by dropping the "Airtame" unit and replacing it with a Windows 10 based minicomputer (roughly the same price) more suitable for support of the conferencing facility.  By November all teams were on board and the formal monthly meetings started. 
    A first deliverable for each team was to submit an "8 Island 12 Training Site Form" that identifies the committed team members and their contact information.  The second and currently ongoing effort was to hold one meeting to brainstorm on training topics and then from this session develop a "Survey for Training Topics Form".  Each team is asked to fill out one copy of the form tallying the team members interest in training topics and to identify one topic they are willing to participate in delivering a training on.  They are also asked to take a second copy of the form and tally the interest in trainings among their partner agriculture professionals and farmers.   This survey process is ongoing as of this report.  The first topic identified for training is "Introduction to WSARE and WSARE's Professional Producer Grant.
    2. All equipment has been purchased and arrived on Guam was repackaged and shipped by boat (COVID19 now only available transport) to the islands and should arrive in all destinations by the last week of March 2021.  The equipment includes a 69" Sony 4k Smart TV for conferencing screen,  Full Tilt and Swivel Wall Mount, Logitech WebCam and Microphone (HDPRO C920 1080 p video cam and recording), Bose Solo 5 TV soundbar sound system, a Windows minicomputer, Multi outlet surge protector, Automatic Voltage Regulator, and HDMI and USB cables.  Funds remain to purchase a separate bluetooth table top omni directional microphone if needed, other supporting devices use determines will enhance project, or repairs  if needed.
     
    An unintended but very positive outcome is that Guam's local farmer led Soil and Water Conservation District decided to support this effort by funding a satellite site at the FCAG building with their funds.  Some of the equipment (TV) was of a different, locally available, brand 70" LG 4k Smart TV.  They will recruit additional agriculture professionals and farmers to attend the trainings.
    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.