Launch of project on sustainable pest management
Discussion details
Traditional Pacific diets are based on root crops and indigenous vegetables, but as economies have grown, imported processed foods have been substituted into diets resulting in a rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Sweetpotato and yam are two staple root crops that are the mainstay of many Pacific people’s diets, particularly for Melanesian communities. However, pests and diseases limit their production and distribution in the region, affecting food security. To help address this, a new project will involve a partnership between the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), University of Queensland, the agriculture ministries of Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga and the Papua New Guinea National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI).
Entitled, Building Integrated Crop Management (ICM) strategies for sweet potato and yam pests in Pacific Island countries, the project is dedicated to improving management of sweetpotato weevils and the virus indexing of Pacific yam collections held at SPC’s Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees in Suva, Fiji. The launch is part of the agenda of the ICM Project Advisory Group meeting to be held next week (20 – 24 July) at Kairo’s Conference Room, in Honiara. The meeting is hosted by the Solomon Islands’ Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and organised in conjunction with SPC’s Land Resources Division and technical support from the University of Queensland.
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