SIART equips YPs to support local farmers, agribusinesses

Junior Agriculture Extension Officers serving in Makira/Ulawa Province as Young Professionals (YPs) for the Solomon Islands Agriculture Rural Transformation (SIART) Project are now equipped with relevant knowledge to support local farmers in their respective rural communities to manage their agribusinesses.

This is after SIART, a partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and the World Bank, successfully rolled out a training workshop for YPs in the provincial capital Kirakira last week from 23 to 27 March 2026.

A total of eight YPs serving in different regions around Makira/Ulawa Province attended the training workshop as SIART continues with its efforts to significantly boost the capacity of provincial agriculture offices to support Agribusiness Producer Organisations (ABPOs) development, business plan implementation, production and income records, recordkeeping, and grant monitoring.

Similar training workshops were also conducted for YPs in Guadalcanal and Malaita Province since the start of the year.

SIART Finance Officer for Makira/Ulawa Province, Susan Waoketafa, who is based at the Agriculture Extension Office in Kirakira, described the training as very relevant for the YPs.

“I’m really pleased with the training workshop because it helps our YPs better understand how to support the Agribusinesses they are working with to do acquittals of their tranche payment funds they receive from the project,” she said.

SIART provides revolving funds along with grants for infrastructure like cocoa driers, pig shelters, allowing ABPOs to purchase raw materials, such as wet cocoa beans or pig feed, from local farmers, process them, and sell them, creating a sustainable, self-funding cycle.

“It is much easier when ABPOs submit their acquittals properly to receive the next tranche of support from the project,” Ms Waoketafa said.

“The other important thing is that it helps YPs know the importance of record keeping which enables them to help local farmers to know whether they are making a profit or a loss when engaging with members of their agribusiness,’ she added.

One of the YPs, Ms Hellen Tabiolo said the training workshop was really helpful and that they have learned a lot.

“After attending this training I’m more confident to go out to our farmers in the communities I work with and help them to understand if they are making a profit or a loss with their capital and in the operation of their agribusiness,” she said.

Ms Beverlyn Rita, a YP in West Makira, is now motivated to go out to the field and share the knowledge she has gained with the farmers from the ABPOs she works with.

“I really look forward to the successful implementation of the ABPOs in my region and I acknowledge SIART for giving us the opportunity to gain this experience as young agriculture officers,” she said.

The YPs were trained in data collection using tablets to meet the project’s Management Information Systems’ requirements, as well as managing and working with Agribusiness Producer Organisations (ABPOs) in rural settings.

Additional training also included project work planning, tracking the implementation of activities, providing support to ABPOs, preparation of ABPO acquittals, and reporting on activity milestones.

Following the classroom-based training, the YPs participated in field-based practical sessions focused on collecting data from ABPOs close to Kirakira.

By empowering and training the YPs, SIART aims to build a stronger, more resilient, and sustainable agricultural sector in the Solomon Islands.

The YPs program is one of SIART’s successful initiatives with 50 young professionals recruited as junior extension officers to assist ABPOs and link with MAL offices in Guadalcanal, Malaita and Makira/Ulawa Province.

ABPOs are groups of farmers and agribusinesses who work together to access markets, financing and support services with the aim to increase farm production and help farmers sell more products.

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SIART statement