By RODRICK DESURI
Auki
There is miscommunication along the Solomon Islands Agriculture and Rural Transformation (SIART) project process that is affecting project recipients.
The delay of essential materials and tools for the project recipients in Malaita Province has raised frustration among them as the project deadline approaches.
Reports reaching this paper say that some of the project recipients are pausing their project implementation while waiting for the materials and tools.
In an interview yesterday, Ruth Mae, a young professional said the failure in the process was not from the person in charge in Auki, but from those in Honiara.
She said their attempts to reach the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock procurement officers, who are responsible, have been unsuccessful.
“We are facing a difficult time reaching the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock who are responsible for informing us about the delay, after we received information from the project recipients,” she said.
She said that due to miscommunication between them, they (Young Professionals) don’t know what to do, but they encourage the project recipients to fund their travel to Honiara to find out what caused the delay.
“Due to the miscommunication between the procurement staff of the Ministry and us, we encourage the project recipients to fund us.
“This is the only option for us. The project recipients need to fund a trip from Auki to Honiara and back, so that we can reach out to the procurement staff and understand the reasons for the delay of their materials,” she said.
The initial aim of the Solomon Islands Agriculture and Rural Transformation (SIART) Project is to increase agricultural production, improve market access, and enhance livelihoods for smallholder farmers, particularly through strengthening Agribusiness Producer Organizations (ABPOs).
The SIART project is funded by the World Bank, with the aim of empowering youth through a Young Professionals program and supporting commercialization in the agricultural sector.
Currently, the SIART project is being implemented in three provinces – Guadalcanal, Malaita and Makira/Ulawa.
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