BY DOUGLAS VAHIA
A copra and CEMA buying agent in South Small Ngella calls on the government to increase funding for the CEMA Agent initiative saying the initiative is empowering farmers in his communities like never before.
Samuel Su’unorua is a copra farmer and an agent of the Commodity Export Marketing Authority (CEMA) from Vuturua village in South Small Ngella.
Mr Su’unorua actively purchases copra from farmers in surrounding communities, helping to improve market access and strengthen rural economy.
Su’unorua left his formal employment with the Solomon Islands Ports Authority in 1997 to dedicate himself to developing his coconut plantation.
“I’d rather work for myself, earning money from my own sweat,” he recalled.
After many years of hard work maintaining his coconut plantation, he took another significant step in his farming journey when he became a CEMA agent last year.
“In April last year, I became a CEMA agent. With the financial support provided by CEMA, I started buying copra from farmers in Vuturua Village and surrounding communities,” Su’unorua said.
He said becoming a CEMA agent has empowered him by allowing him to grow beyond being solely a farmer into a small-scale commodity buyer.
“It gives me great satisfaction to put money into the hands of other farmers, enabling them to provide for their families and meet their household needs,” he added.
Su’unorua acknowledges CEMA for introducing the agent initiative and encourages the Authority to continue strengthening and expanding the programme.
He also calls on the Government to increase funding for the CEMA agent initiative so that agents are adequately resourced to meet growing demand.
Su’unorua explained that in his village, where church activities play a significant role in community life, farmers sometimes refrain from harvesting their produce for a period to allow coconuts to mature before a collective harvest.
“When the harvesting period arrives, the cash available is quickly exhausted because many farmers bring in their copra at the same time,” he said.
He urges the Government to allocate more resources to support the CEMA agent initiative and encourages CEMA to continue managing the programme effectively for the benefit of farmers throughout the country.
Today, Su’unorua collects between 20 and 30 bags of copra every two to three weeks from farmers in his area. His greatest challenge, however, is transporting the copra to Honiara. Although Small Ngella is located just across from Honiara, transportation remains a significant obstacle for the Vuturua CEMA agent.
The CEMA agent initiative was revitalised to bridge the gap between buyers and farmers by bringing purchasing services closer to rural communities.
The programme aims to enable farmers to receive payment more quickly, strengthen and improve the reliability of the commodity supply chain, and better coordinate transportation and marketing arrangements.
The initiative forms part of CEMA’s broader FARMERS FIRST vision, which recognises the tireless efforts of Solomon Islands’ cocoa and copra farmers.
Above all, the vision seeks to ensure that farmers receive greater value from their hard work and maximise the benefits from the commodities they produce.
Photo: Supplied
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