BY BEN BILUA
THE Minister of Agriculture for Guadalcanal Province, Daniel Besa’o says food security is an ongoing issue and efforts to address the issue has been lagging behind time.
He made the statement during the launching of partnership to improve food production and nutrition between Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Program (PHAMA) Plus and Kastom Garden Association (KGA) on Wednesday.
Hon Besa’o said food security has been one of the top agenda in national and provincial discussions but little has been done to address the issue.
“We can come in with a lot of money and ask people to do it or ask donor to do it but the issue keep popping up is lack of consistency.
“It’s easy to map out plans but getting to ground and do work is another story,” he said.
Hon Besa’o said the geographical setting of the country presents a huge challenge in the implementation of food security programs and that proper planning must be made taking into account the logistics to move around the provinces with needed activities.
He acknowledges KGA for its ongoing effort on seed saving and distributions to farmers as part of improving food security in the country.
Hon Besa’o said Seed Saving is the way forward to safe guide crops and vegetables from invasive pest and diseases so as help farmers to access better seedlings for better production.
“Having seed gene banks established in the provinces will boost food productions and also kept domestic crops and vegetables in a safer place during droughts or other disasters,” he said.
Hon Besa’o told those present that Guadalcanal provincial government is looking forward to work with KGA and PHAMA Plus to roll out the project.
