SPC and EU help link Samoan farmers to tourism sector

More than 25 smallholders, including six women, mainly from the ‘salad bowl’ region on the main island of Upolu in Samoa, met at Nuu Extension Centre in November to receive tips on how to market their produce to hoteliers and resort owners. 

The one-day workshop is an initiative to strengthen the link between agriculture and the tourism industry.  The farmer workshop was facilitated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in collaboration with national partners Samoa MAF and the Samoa Farmers Association (SFS) in an initiative to bring farmers closer to competitive markets. A major achievement of the workshop was the space given to farmers to draw up a calendar of what they can produce, in what quantities, and what prices they would like to sell at. This crop calendar, produced by each farmer, was shown to hoteliers and chefs in a later exchange at the farmer-hotelier mart held at the Samoa Tourism Authority (STA) fales in Apia. This was an open forum, where the hoteliers and chefs met with the farmers to negotiate what the chefs want and what farmers can provide. 

Contact for more information: Emil Adams, PAPP Information and Communication Management Officer