Farmer receives assistance from P.I.R.A.S. Project

A 5,000 Ltr tank that farmer Pepe Tofilau had received through the Pacific Island Rural and Agriculture Stimulus Facility (P.I.R.A.S.) Project has helped her water the crops.

Mrs. Tofilau of Aleisa has utilised two acres of her land to grow bananas, taro, cassava, coconut peanuts, cocoa, corn, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, and they are currently adding more fruits and vegetable varieties.

Mrs. Tofilau lives far inland of Aleisa with her family, and the main expense is water irrigation for the maintenance of their mixed crops.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (M.A.F.) as a member of the Faleasi’u Womens’ Associations she received assistance with a 5,000 Ltr water tank through P.I.R.A.S. which seeks to help support sustainable food production, improve nutrition and strengthen inclusive local value chains.

The IFAD and Australian Government funded P.I.R.A.S. Project currently being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries aims to support food productions, improve nutrition and to strengthen inclusive local value chains.

The Project comes at a crucial time to complement the Ministry’s ongoing efforts in creating new and sustaining livelihoods for those severely impacted by the effects of the pandemic, increasing import substitution activities while also strengthening food and nutrition security.

Mrs. Tofilau said that they have a mixed-crop farm and the usually irrigate them daily.

"We have spent up to SAT $300 plus on buying water hoses that reach far off into our land to water the cocoa and the rest of our crops. With this water tank we received through the P.I.R.A.S. Project, we will be able to save money and easily water our crops," she said in the statement.

Mrs. Tofilau does not go to the market, as they depend on their land, and also give fruits and vegetables to others.

“Our first set back when COVID-19 hit was hard on our first lot of taro we were not able to nurture and take care of them, plus the problem of people taking from our land when we could not come maintain our land due to restrictions," she said.

“During the lockdowns we had heaps of food and because there are only two of us we ended up giving away food to help other families like our lovely neighbors and our families. We also take all the excess food to our families and friends when we take a trip to Savaii."

Mrs. Tofilau and her husband have finished fencing two acres of their land with the assistance of the Samoa Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity and Marketing (S.A.F.P.R.O.M.) Project, and they have now advised our neighbours that they can use the other end of their land to grow their food to feed their families.

"With proper fencing, we will now be able to commercialise our farm by keeping out pigs and reducing incidences of thieving. This will also mean that our neighbours crops will be protected so everybody wins," she said.