Thursday, 8 December 2022
The Samoa-China Agricultural Technical Aid Project (SCATAP) Affiliated Civil Works today was officially handed over to the Government of Samoa through the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Agricultural facilities and infrastructure including experts’ residence, feed mill, breeder house and brooder house were all part of the handover.
The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt on behalf of the Government expressed heartfelt thanks to the Government of the People’s Republic of China through the SCATAP Team, for their tremendous contribution to the sustainable development of the Agricultural Sector in Samoa.
“The implementation of the SCATAP project has played an important role in stabilizing vegetable supplies and prices in Samoa in the context of the global food crisis.” he remarked
He also acknowledged with appreciation the tireless efforts and innovative work of our Chinese expert team lead by Mr. Jim Liu, the implementation institution Hunan Province Agricultural Foreign Economic Cooperation Center, the Zheng Construction Company and all others who had supported this great project.
The SCATAP has been implemented for 12 consecutive years since 2010 and has employed a total of 40 agricultural experts from China in Samoa. The project has established 1 demonstration farm at Nu’u, facilitated 9 agricultural stations and developed 100 model farmers. It promoted 9 agricultural technology packages, including new crop varieties, tunnel house vegetable cultivation, free range broiler production, crops-livestock-biogas recycling technology, high yield citrus production and agricultural machineries. SCATAP has provided 200 tunnel houses, 100 machineries and agricultural training for more than 10,000 farmers and technicians in Samoa.
H.E. Chao Xiaoliang, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Samoa, stated in his remarks that the SCATAP Demonstration farm in Samoa is the largest comprehensive farm through the Chinese Aid in the Pacific. He also stated that the main objective of the SCATAP Demonstration Farm is to enhance the local agricultural production, improve food security and increase farmers income for the people of Samoa.
The ceremony concluded with a visit around the SCATAP Demonstration Farm civil works at Nu’u.
-ENDS-
