AGRICULTURE LAUNCHED POLICY BANK IN HONIARA
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock has officially launched a first ever Agriculture Policy Bank in Honiara today.
A statement from the Ministry said the Policy Bank is an electronic library of policy documents and related technical information that can be freely accessed online by the public.
It says the development of the Policy Bank has been facilitated by the European Union (EU) supported Pacific Agriculture Policy Project (PAPP), implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC).
The Policy Bank launch will coincide with an Awareness and Implementation Workshop on the draft Solomon Islands Agriculture and Livestock Policy 2015 – 2019.
The workshop runs through tomorrow at the Heritage Park Hotel for Farmers, government officials, national and regional partners as well as private sector representatives.
Meanwhile, the statement said the workshop will bring together stakeholders to outline what is covered in the new national sector policy and is an opportunity for partners to make final contributions to the document.
The review and the formulation of the new sector policy have been a collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) ‘Strongem Waka lo Community fo Kaikai’ project in Solomon Islands, with technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The statement adds similar awareness and implementation workshops on the sector policy will also be conducted in each province in the country, with a particular focus on ensuring engagement with smallholder farmers and farmers’ organisations.
The document will be an endorsement by the National Parliament.