Acknowledgements
• Hon. Minister Laauli (Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt), Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
• Pousui Fiso (Dr. Fiame Leo), SROS CEO
• Hon. Minister Laumatiamanu Ringo Purcell, Minister for Sports & Recreation
• Lavea’I Ioane, NZ Deputy High Commissioner to Samoa
• Colleagues from Diplomatic Corp, Associate Ministers from the Samoan Government
• Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
Remarks
May I start with acknowledgements of the Minister’s words, Minister, thank you so much for your warm remarks. I am very supportive of the sentiments you expressed, and also very supportive of locally-led development.
From Australia’s point of view, and I’m sure the same for New Zealand, we love to see a government and people who know exactly what they want, and Australia and New Zealand are here to support your goals and objectives. As often as not, you are the people who know best what it is that you need. You know the agriculture problems that you face.
Talofa lava,
Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Australian Government today.
Congratulations to the Minister and to SROS, we’re very grateful for this collaborative approach but particularly for you, it is wonderful to see this level of participation and both from Members of Parliament and representatives from districts.
The statistics I have seen, suggest that 94% of Samoan households reported growing crops or raising livestock, that’s an extraordinary figure. Even as a percentage of GDP, I understand agriculture is 10% GDP but there’s a big gap between those figures. So obviously, if there are 94% of households involved in agriculture, it means it’s critical to food security, to people’s lives and livelihoods and not necessarily being traded, but being consumed. So, any problem that affects people’s food security and livelihoods is clearly an important one.
And as I’ve said, feral pigs is one of the most consistent topics that we have heard raised through the Australian High Commissions’ engagement here in Samoa both from the Minister himself, through regional programs that we jointly fund with New Zealand MDF and PHAMA Plus, through direct community grants that the Australian High Commission provides, agriculture and feral pigs in particular are one of the issues in which farmers are seeking sustainable solutions.
I’m told that through MDF field research in 2023, we heard that pigs are primarily damaging root crops, and that taro is a critical crop in Samoan culture as well as the crop that is primarily being damaged by feral pigs. Of course, anytime pigs are damaging crops that’s going to be a huge disincentive to agricultural investment.
I’d like to share briefly on the ways Australia is supporting agriculture in Samoa including:
• Through supporting the domestic supply of climate resilient taro planting material;
• Providing expertise to local farmer organization to improve productive and sustainable taro
cropping systems
• Providing solar lights to vulnerable farmers across Upolu and Savaii; and through
• Supporting the strengthening of Samoa’s biosecurity systems, we hope to re-open market access pathways for fresh taro export to Australia.
So on the basis on the research done to date, it is terrific that MDF has implemented together with the Ministry and SROS, this multi-step research-based intervention. Let’s see how this research goes! But I think we are all very hopeful that it will deliver the results that you want it to deliver.
That’s why Australia, and I’m sure New Zealand as well, we’re very pleased to be collaborating with New Zealand on this project. That’s why we’re pleased to support the Government of Samoa efforts in this regard. It’s not only addressing the issue of feral pigs, but trailing preventative management measures that are grounded in the realities of everyday life of Samoan farmers.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak today. I’m very honoured to be here for the official distribution of these Pig Brig traps. I’m looking forward to seeing how they work and I’m very confident that these resources, together with support from SROS and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, will enhance Samoa’s efforts in promoting the sustainable production of agricultural products.
Fa’afetai tele lava
SOURCE – Australian High Commission, Samoa
