Faafetai mo lenei aso, ua maua ile agalelei ole Atua, Oute tu ai ile va i tia o Ali’iseu, ma ou eu le i’u ole falalafo, ole ‘Ause’ematāfala, e fa’atalofa atu ai, i le mamalu ua aofaga potopoto au lenei faamoemoe
- Susu I lau susuga I le taitai o le sauniga, Rev. Nu’uausala Siaosi,
- Susu Ms. Betty Chung: Deputy Mission Director of the United States Agency for International Development,
- Members of the Diplomatic Corp,
- Faauluuluga o Matagaluega a le Malo, Faalapotopotoga Tumaoti, ma le mamamlu o le au valaulia.
As third in line to be making this keynote address, I wish on behalf of the Government of Samoa, to welcome you all to the launching of this critical project to reduce rhinoceros beetle on coconut plantations in Samoa.
I don’t have the full history of when this pest made it to Samoa, but as far back as I can remember, there have been numerous national programs spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to eradicate it. At one time, I thought it, we succeeded, but maybe it was in hypernation, of maybe it was reprioritisation of governments programs. But now, it’s become a major pest again.
Therefore, this new program by WIBDI will certainly help the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries with extra hands to spread the message and implement actions, by having more of our community involved.
Why is eradicating the rhinoceros beetle important? As we all know, the coconut tree is one of the most useful trees, with documented well over 100 uses, from the roots all the way to the new leaf. It is useful medicinally, ornamentally, for handicrafts, food and drink, feedstock, for construction, sinnet, and many others. It has also been the backbone of our economic development for so many years.
Thus is why we must do everything and explore all avenues to eradicate this pest while, giving the opportunity for our coconut plantations to flourish for sustained economic development.
Another critical component for the project is building resilience of the coconut plantations from climate change and natural disasters. I wish you well on this aspiration, as we all know the hardships we go through post natural disasters with defoliation and destruction of plantations. Coconut trees on the other hand are strong to withstand heavy winds as it rarely breaks, and thus, is quick to bear fruits that provide food security for our people. So I’m very interested and keen to see how project will build resilience of the coconut trees.
If we can eradicate and eliminate the rhinoceros beetle, the third component of the project to promote sustainable farming practices and protecting our border from any new strains affecting our coconut plantations will be very welcomed.
Malo faafetai to the leadership role of the Women in Business Development Inc (WIBDI) for implementing this project in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
While our farmers know what is best needed on their farms given their traditional technical knowledge, we do note that biological control agents and other costly tools needed to control the Beetle population require national assistance given the need to import them into the country. In this respect, farmers require sustainable support to better manage and maintain their assets and livelihoods. This is one key area where this project can help.
As the Minister of Environment, I want to give special shout out and faamalo to WIBDI for its strong stance and continue efforts to promote organic farming, which to me is not only good for the environment, but as its been proven in many studies, actually produce better crop yields.
Let me acknodwledge with appreciation the USAID for funding the project that will enable WIBDI to work with MAF and the government of Samoa to continue the work on eradicatin the rhinoceros beetle from our country, and continue to build resilience of our agricultural sector from climate change.
To conclude, I would like to congratulate WIBDI for putting up their hand to undertake such a challenging but rewarding project. We look forward to working with you and your partners when needed.
Thank-you everyone for your time and attention this afternoon.
