The Vanuatu Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) has continuously been promoting and encouraging urban residents to engage in backyard garden to ensure food security.
Engaging in backyard gardening adds to improving availability and access to fresh fruits and vegetables as well as resilience to natural disasters and climate change impacts.
This activity has generated interest in the communities, particularly in Port Vila such as church groups and schools.
Efate rural communities are also benefitting as effects of the COVID-19 pandemic also interrupt household operations.
Backyard gardens not only ensure food security but also community involvement and sustainability of the DARD urban garden programme.
More than 500 households are benefitting from this programme through trainings conducted, awareness outreach and access to vegetable seedlings.
In the rural setting, for many farmers, backyard gardening is a daily activity for them whereas in urban areas, people are inspired by what the DARD is doing in its backyard through the establishment of backyard gardens and demonstration plots.
Donald Louvo who hails from Dillions Bay, Erromango, is a prominent farmer that has assisted community members by providing vegetable seedlings, kava seedlings and forestry seedlings to encourage farmers to invest in agricultural produce in their backyards and grow commercial tree species for long-term investment.
Mr Louvo said now that the government is encouraging people through DARD to invest in agriculture to ensure a healthy diet and food security, backyard garden is very beneficial to all rural communities including Dillions Bay.
“My nursery and backyard garden is near the road so many people have the opportunity to come in and ask questions.
“I grow all types of vegetables and root crops such as sweet potatoes, water taro, cassava and other crops. My backyard garden provides me with fresh vegetables daily.
“Community members also have access to vegetable seedlings, kava seedlings and sandalwood seedlings from my set up.
“I would like to see all farmers on Erromango unite and work together to develop agriculture sector,” Mr Louvo stated.
He has engaged in the forestry sector since 1984 with the production of sandalwood and he still continues to supply sandalwood seedlings to other interested farmers.
Mr Louvo stated that one of the challenges faced by farmers on Dillions Bay is access to water for irrigation system as an innovative farming technology for farmers to increase productivity.
“With the assistance of some good friends from overseas and former Member of Parliament (MP) for TAFEA outer islands, Tomker Netvunei, a water system was established whereby water pipes were connected to a the source and powered by gravity to make water accessible to communities, health post and William’s Bay Junior Secondary school.”
Former MP, Netvunei, said, “A water system was established to assist the Dillions Bay communities access water for daily household needs and farmers can use the water for their backyard gardens and nursery as well.
“Williams Bay Junior Secondary School also benefits from accessing water by establishing irrigation system for the school’s vegetable garden.
“Dillions Bay is located on the Western part of the island and needs sufficient water for household needs and vegetable production especially,” former MP Netvunei concluded.
Photo supplied Caption: Caption: Donald Louvo and his nursery