Promoting Nutritious Food Systems in the Pacific:
Solomon Islands National Action Plan
The participatory creation of the National Action Plan during the Fiji Forum aims to provide tailor-made approaches in order to tackle specific in-country challenges and make use of opportunities at national level for agribusiness and value chain development.
The plan addresses four key themes:
1.NUTRITION: Reduction in NCDs and childhood malnutrition and increased income from agri-food value chain development
- Impact Aims: Increase household incomes and consumption of nutrient-dense local foods through value addition
- Key Innovations / Critical Success Factors: Community based initiatives such as Kastom Gardens Association that reach thousands of farmers
2. FINANCE – Making farmers bank ready and banks farmer ready
- Impact Aims: Improve the enabling environment for farmers to access financing
- Key Innovations/ Critical Success factors: Bank’s bundling of farming/SME loan products; farmers’ / SME commitment to loan repayment, farmers understanding of loan / financial products; favourable environment (business/weather); Mobile banking systems exist and are growing
3. ICT – Robust Communication System for Growers / SMEs
- Impact Aims: Increase ICT uptake and adoption by farmers in rural communities
- Key Innovations / Critical Success Factors: Available technologies (e.g. weather forecasting, mobile banking, PESTNET – pest diagnostic app.; strong farmers associations / organisations
4. INSURANCE – Robust Insurance Package for Farmers
- Impact Aims: To build awareness on advantages and disadvantages of weather index based insurance / parametric insurance
- Key Innovations / Critical Success Factors : Bundled insurance; detailed costing for crops; available census data to calucalet the total value at risk; experiences (negative) with PCRAFI scheme; strong farmer organisations; 60% phone penetration except in the outer islands and rural communities; mobile banking systems exist
Each theme is addressed under the sections:
- Action
- Partners involved
- Stakeholder Targeted
- Resources Required
- Timeframe
- Method of Verification
Download the Solomon Islands National Action Plan here.
As part of the consultation process, interested parties are invited to provide feedback through joining the Solomon Islands online discussion group or through the contact form here.
All stakeholder including government, non-state actors, civil society, business sector and communities must word hand in hand to address the core issue of healthy food for all.” – Permanent Secretary of the Solomon Islands Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL), Jimi Saelea