BY JOY OFASIA
THE Kastom Gaden Association team, in collaboration with supporting partners and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, recently visited Aitolo in West Kawarae, Malaita province.
According to Kastom Gaden Association (KGA) on Social Media, the strategic planning session aims to get input from farmers from the Planting Material Network (PMN), Kastom Gaden Association (KGA) staff, partners from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL), and other stakeholders to develop the outline of a new strategic plan for KGA for the period 2025–2030.
KGA’s mission is to “strengthen village-based food security in the Solomon Islands using participatory, practical, grass-roots approaches that enable village people to examine, understand, and develop their own solutions to improve household food security and village-based agriculture economies,” and KGA is represented by farmer members.
This is the third planning meeting for KGA to capture views and set up the strategic plan. We have one early this year with farmers in Honiara, one during a workshop in Gizo, Western Province, in June, and the tired one in Malaita.
For the two-day planning session, the team engaged in meaningful discussions with the farmers to help shape the new strategic plan for KGA for the period of 2025–2030.
This session will help farmers gain valuable knowledge on upholding organic farming practices, linking farmers to farmers, and strengthening their relationships with KGA.
The visit included a thorough review of lessons learned and an exploration of the next steps for KGA and its members. Additionally, the team visited Lionel’s Agroecology Farm, providing an opportunity for farmers to participate in a farmer-to-farmer exchange while out in the field.
This strategic meeting was made possible with the support of the Farmers’ Organizations for Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific (FO4acp), a joint partnership between the European Union, the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Groups of States, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and Pacific Farmer Organizations, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing.
The KGA Team remains committed to fostering a sustainable and prosperous future for all its members and has plans in the coming months to hold a farmers’ forum as well as ongoing project activities at the project sites.
