Commercial agricultural development

The project, to be implemented by the University of the South Pacific (USP), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and a U.S. contractor, will (1) strengthen commercial exporting enterprises (CEE"s), including producer- owned firms, co-ops, and industry associations; and (2) improve product quality. The project will strengthen CEE"s in three ways. (1) It will help privatize parastatal and government agribusiness activities, e.g., the processed ginger, cocoa marketing, and vanilla industries in Fiji. It will also help the private sector install, beginning in Fiji, high temperature forced air treatment (HTFA) quarantine facilities for produce, thereby altering the government"s role from operator to certifier of the quarantine system. (2) It will improve CEE organization and operations by (a) providing TA and equipment to selected CEE"s (e.g., Fiji"s cocoa marketing, ginger processing, and fresh produce industries; Vanuatu"s Syndicate d"Agricole; the Solomon Islands" ngali nut industry; the New Guinea Island Produce (NGIP) Company; and Western Samoa"s taro industry), and (b) establishing a private sector-operated regional training facility, probably at NGIP, in commercial agricultural management and marketing. (3) It will work with project 8790018 to identify business expansion opportunities; promising areas include ginger puree and cut flowers in Fiji, ngali nuts in the Solomon Islands, organic coffee in Papua New Guinea, and kukui nuts in Tonga. Six activities will be undertaken to improve export competitiveness. (1) USP"s Alafua Institute for Research, Extension, and Training for Agriculture (IRETA) will help establish quality and grading standards by publishing export marketing manuals on root crops, fruits and vegetables, and nuts and spices. The project will also provide TA and training in these areas to selected industries. (2) Advisors will help CEE"s work with farmers to improve pre- and postharvest practices, i.e., site selection and preparation, seed selection, planting dates, pest control, harvesting, transportation, and packing. (3) The project will introduce quarantine treatments, with emphasis on HTFA treatment for fruitflies. (4) New low-cost processing technologies, e.g., a taro washer and a ngali nut cracker, will be developed. (5) Marketing and industry-focused research will be conducted. (6) Finally, USP will disseminate information on export crops via its agricultural information network and Agricultural Liaison Office, as well as by publishing quality control manuals and sponsoring workshops.