BY JOHN HOUANIHAU

Commodities Export Marketing Authority (CEMA) Director Simon Chottu said he has seen an increased youth engagement in the copra sector.

“In terms of youth engagement, I see many youths going into copra where I want to acknowledge them,’’ Chottu said this when he spoke to Island Sun in an interview.

“Maybe because of influencers. Say for example this girl that goes viral with copra on social media. So, it good to utilize social media and a new platform to advocate and promote our commodities to attract the younger generation to engage in productive means,’’ he said.

He said that Youths visited their office and inquired about how they could be agents, apply for funds and revitalize their plantation.

“I see many have sent in their letters. It is good to see youths start to engage in such positive development,’’ said Chottu.

Mr Chottu also highlighted that copra and cocoa production nearly doubled in the first quarter of this year compared to last year 2024.

“I can say that youths have started to realise the importance of copra. That is a good indicator that our youth is eager to wait to jump into this industry to boost it up,’’ he said.

He said he believed more youths would engage in copra and cocoa production while others such as kava, cassava and taro are slowly picking up.

“CEMA yet to promote and regulate. These commodities will bring money into the economy through exports. At the moment we lost money due importation of goods. The only way money comes in is for our goods to go out,’’ said Chottu.

“With youths’ involvement in the industry as we know 60% of the population is youths, when they twist to agriculture it will bring positive news at the end or increase the volume and then money will come into the economy,’’ said Chottu.

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By Loretta B Manele

Solomon Islands women are making good progress in the infrastructure industry.

Rod Hilton, Australia’s high commissioner raised this saying Solomon Islands women already play a vital role in every aspect of life while making this good progress.

Mr Hilton spoke about this at the “Women in Infrastructure” Breakfast Forum last week, Friday at the Heritage Park Hotel.

Hilton said under Australian supported infrastructure projects around Solomon Islands today, women are on work sites in critical roles and earning a good income.

He stressed that women are stepping into roles that were traditionally held by men and are proving that they can not only get the job done but can also bring unique perspectives and innovative solutions to the infrastructure challenges we face.

Hilton stated that from planning and design to building markets, roads, bridges, ports to managing water supply systems and energy projects, women are making their mark in infrastructure as engineers, builders and project managers.

“As we reflect on the achievements and challenges faced by women in the Solomon Islands today, let us celebrate the stories of courage and determination and the role of women already doing the vital job of building Solomon Islands.”

Hilton pointed out that promoting women in infrastructure is not just about equality but also about unlocking potential, benefiting families, communities and economies alike.

He added that it means more economic growth of which in turn means more work for local companies and more local jobs.

Hilton noted that we should continue to work together to empower, inspire and ensure that the voices of women are heard, valued and celebrated.

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By Loretta B Manele

Australia continues to be committed in efforts to help women thrive through a number of avenues.

Rod Hilton, Australian high commissioner highlighted this when speaking at the International Women’s Day celebrations on March 11 at the National Museum Auditorium.

Hilton said Australia is investing in economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable as well as education, health, infrastructure, jobs, skills and connectivity to accelerate progress for women and all Solomon Islanders.

He said they are also proud to be the largest contributor to gender equality programmes in Solomon Islands.

Hilton said Australia is proud that their support to the county continues to have a positive impact.

This positive impact is said to be in delivering greater gender awareness, improving women’s leadership and political participation, the establishment of a national system for responding to violence against women, increased women’s financial literacy and so much more.

Hilton stressed that achieving gender equality is everybody’s business thus men must also step up, speak out and become champions of change.

He also spoke about having more women in leadership roles.

Hilton said greater representation of women in political positions is critical and we need to remove barriers and support women to enter and succeed in all areas of life.

He added that when women are represented in leadership positions at all levels we are strengthened because women provide important perspectives and hold the potential to drive further economic growth to improve health, education and well-being of the whole family and country.

Hilton said Australia reaffirms its commitment to gender equality and advancing the human rights of women equally alongside those of men.

In relation, he stated that their vision is that through Australia’s support in the establishment of the Naha birthing centre, mothers and babies will receive state of the art health care and will be able to get there on smoother and faster roads.

Hilton said as they grow up, they will have equal access to better schools with improved curriculums, classrooms, teachers and facilities.

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By Loretta B Manele

Solomon Islands is one of the countries in the Pacific to receive a grant of AUD 315,000 from Passive Women Lead (PWL).

Freda Tuki, minister for Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA) made the announcement last week while opening International Women’s Day celebrations at the National Museum Auditorium.

She announced the launch of Passive Women Lead, (PWL) one of the largest global commitments to gender equality in the Pacific, with AUD 170 million funding from the Australian government.

“Solomon Island is proud to be one of the recipients under the PWL programme, receiving a grant of approximately AUD 315,000.”

Tuki explained that PWL focuses on improving women’s leadership, realising women’s rights and increasing the effectiveness of regional gender equality efforts.

She said the grant will help address gender-based violence by ensuring survivors’ access to safe, quality services and training of frontline police officers on their duties under the Family Protection Act.

Additionally, Tuki stated the grant will also allow for policy-enabling environments to tackle technology-facilitated gender-based violence and provide financial literacy training for rural women to improve their economic status and business opportunities.

She also took the opportunity to thank the Australian government for their support.

“The Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs sincerely thank the Australian government through the Pacific Women Lead and Pacific Community of this tremendous support as we continue our journey to realising gender equality in Solomon Islands.

I want to also thank all of our partners and stakeholders for their ongoing support.”

She stressed that they still have much more to do and need to act faster to achieve gender equality in the Solomon Islands.

With that remark, Tuki said International Women’s Day is about leaving no one behind.

She stated that as they accelerate actions for all women and girls, they must ensure that those who are farthest behind also get the support they need to move forward.

Pacific Women Lead, Australia’s flagship regional gender equality investment worth AUD 170 million investment, is for the Pacific region and is for a 5-year period (2021-2026).

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BY NED GAGAHE

The Taro Provincial Emergency Operations Centre in Choiseul, Solomon Islands, is set for handover, marking a significant step in enhancing the province’s ability to respond to emergencies.

The project, funded by Australia at a cost of SBD2 million, aims to improve disaster response capabilities and ensure communities are better supported during times of crisis.

During the launch of a twinning partnership between the Solomon Islands Meteorological Services (SIMS) and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday, Australian High Commission Minister Counsellor, Lindsay Buckingham, highlighted Australia’s ongoing commitment to disaster resilience in the region.

Buckingham expressed pride in the collaboration, stating, “Australia is proud to work shoulder to shoulder with the Solomon Islands government on these important fronts.”

She further emphasised that the establishment of the Taro Emergency Operations Centre is a crucial infrastructure development.

“This is another important infrastructure piece that has been supported by Australia to strengthen emergency response capabilities in the Solomon Islands.

“The Australian support extends beyond infrastructure, focusing on building partnerships that enhance disaster response systems and ensure the Solomon Islands can effectively assist its communities in times of need.”

This investment complements Australia’s commitment to build a national humanitarian warehouse in Honiara, alongside provincial warehouses in Gizo and Auki.

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BY NED GAGAHE

Solomon Islands is set to host the annual Climate and Ocean Support Programme for the Pacific (COSPPac) Steering Committee meeting in Honiara this May.

Minister Counsellor Lindsay Buckingham of the Australian High Commission made this announcement during her remarks at the twinning partnership event between Solomon Islands Meteorological Services (SIMS) and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday.

“It is good to hear that SIMS will host the annual Climate and Ocean Support Program for the Pacific (COSPPac) Steering Committee in Honiara this May,” Buckingham said.

An Australian-Aid-funded programme, COSPPac aims to enhance the capacity of Pacific Island nations to manage and mitigate the impacts of climate variability and tidal events.

The programme works with stakeholders to build tools that can forecast and report on climate, tides, and the ocean, helping to determine how best to communicate this information to Pacific communities, businesses, and governments.

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BY JOHN HOUANIHAU

Commodities Export Marketing Authority (CEMA) continues to work with donor partners to support the government to enable its operations in the country.

Simon Chottu CEMA director told Island Sun that opening new centres and building infrastructures to enable CEMA to roll out its services is one of the areas CEMA is working toward achieving.

“Provide training due to limited funds or assisting us with funds to ensure that we connect to our farmers and people,” he said.

Going forward Chottu said CEMA will push to reach remote areas such as Temotu, weather cost in Guadalcanal, and weather cost in Makira.

He said that there are a good number of farmers that CEMA and private sectors need to reach out to them.

“CEMA is not giving up but making sure to reach these farmers,” said Chottu.

In terms of geographical separation from the ocean, Chottu said that it is CEMA’s vision to have its ship.

“One that CEMA pushes towards is to have its ship and try to reach out to donor partners and government with some paper works to request for budget to secure a ship or established MoU with the shipping company to operate CEMA routes,” he said.

“CEMA belongs to the people. It is not a profitable entity. It is to support the economy,” said Chottu.

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BY JOHN HOUANIHAU

Women in Tulagi in the Central Islands Province say they are happy to see their new hospital completed.

Spokeswoman Anne Samora shared their profound gratitude to Island Sun during the handover of the newly renovated Tulagi Hospital last week in Tulagi.

“In terms of the New Hospital, we are really happy, we thank God, the Ministry of Health who worked with the province to build this hospital for our people here at Ngella and Savo Russell,” said Samora.

“It will help us especially when a member of our is sick, especially our children, we will come to the hospital which is now closer to us rather than going to Honiara which is too far,” she said.

She said that some of the challenges they faced before the hospital was renovated to its current state was travelling to Honiara which was costly for them when their children were sick or when the mothers got pregnant.

She also recalled that sometimes old people lose their lives and sometimes recover.

“So now since we have a good hospital, we will have doctors and more nurses to attend to our issues, operations will be done here, good news for us the women,” she said.

“It cost us a lot of money to travel to Honiara, especially for us at the grassroots level where we did not receive income every day but depended on market and gardening,” said Samora.

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