Micronesia 2018-20 PDP project

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Crop Production: agroforestry, application rate management, alley cropping, contour farming, cover crops, cropping systems, drainage systems, intercropping, nurseries, organic fertilizers, seed saving, shade cloth
• Education and Training: demonstration, display, extension, farmer to farmer, technical assistance, workshop
• Pest Management: biological control, cultivation, cultural control, disease vectors, mulches - general, sanitation
• Soil Management: composting, green manures, organic matter, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: quality of life

Professional development and capacity building is very important to new generation of agriculture extension agents, many of them have only completed a 2-year AS degree without or limited field experience. They should be empowered with knowledge and skills to help farmers and homemakers cope with the mostly unfamiliar effects of climate change on local production. Capacity building continues to be the mainstream for state implementation activities in Micronesia. It is timely that we look back and evaluate progress of previous SARE involvement and to identify issues and how realign project activities to meet with current demands in the field and on the household level.

This project will focus on assessment and documentation of previous projects and will update ag professionals through promotion of what is SARE is all about. The second focus area is re-print of existing Sustainable Agriculture materials including leaflets, posters, and booklets.

Liaisons should be able to support clients in terms of providing technical assistance and sharing SARE information and published materials. Finally a connection is established between SARE Liaison and SARE State Coordinator. Other outcomes for all participants should include 1 or 2 of those listed below:
 Types of seeds, germination, and management of seedlings in the nursery. Most people would collect seeds for replanting without knowing the different between hybrid and open pollinated seeds,
 Some farmers and especially backyard gardeners believe chemical fertilize reduce soil fertility,
 Some farmers do not fully understand how to make compost the benefits of using compost in the field.
 Health benefits from eating vegetables
 Opportunity to grow and sell vegetables based on type and volume of import
 Basic concepts of pre and post harvest methodologies,
 Cultural methods of specific vegetable crop
 Most farmers do not know or have the info about number of days from planting to harvest
 Most farmers sell their produce without knowing the cost of production (COP)
 Recognition and how to deal with pests and diseases
 Concepts of preservation and value added
 Effect of climate change of agriculture in general