Vanuatu will benefit from agriculture trainings conducted through Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem.
The programme is the first virtual intensive training on agricultural extension for intensive vegetable production for the entire Pacific islands region including Vanuatu.
Israeli Ambassador to the Pacific Island Countries, Dr Tibor Shalev Schlosser said the programme will be dedicated to meeting the challenges and the special climate and land conditions of the Pacific Islands.
“Following the Pacific Leaders’ summit with Israel’s President, Reuven Rivlin, in Nadi on February 20, 2020 and its concluding declaration of the Israel – Pacific Food Security Alliance (IPFSA), we are most delighted to launch the program on 21st of January 2021 together with my colleagues from Mashav (Israeli International Technical Cooperation) and with the Pacific Island’s professional participants.”
Agricultural extension and advisory services play a crucial role in increasing agricultural productivity, improving food security, ensuring rural livelihoods, and promoting agriculture as an engine of pro-poor economic growth.
Farmers view extension as a form of assistance intended to improve their productivity, and profitability, thereby contributing to the wellbeing of their family, community, and society.
Israel is a world leader in agricultural technology and particularly in agricultural development under challenging climatic, geographical and political conditions.
The regional training program on agricultural extension methods and tools is the first major activity to take place within the framework of the IPFSA program.
It aims to share with participants the principles and methods of agricultural extension, specifically for vegetable production, taking into consideration the adaptability of various methods to meet local conditions in the participating countries.
The knowledge gained will provide participants — operators of the demo plots and other extension professionals — tools that will enable them to transfer new technical, agricultural know-how to the farmers in the different islands.
The final projects of the different national teams will be to present an extension plan to diffuse the new technologies implemented in the demo plot.
Former Minister of Internal Affairs, Andrew Napuat, represented Vanuatu during the Israeli President’s visit to the Pacific Islands in Fiji.