BY BEN BILUA
Gizo
SECONDARY school students in Western Province are spending part of their school holidays learning practical organic farming and nutrition skills through a training programme that aims to strengthen food security and promote healthier lifestyles.
WorldFish, in partnership with the Kastom Gaden Association (KGA) hosted a one-day organic farming and nutrition training in Gizo on Wednesday, bringing together 36 students from six secondary schools across the province.
Participants ranging from Form One to Form Seven, represented RC Nicholson College, Beulah Provincial Secondary School, Gizo Community High School, Goldie College, Kukudu Adventist High School and Patupaele Community High School.
The initiative forms part of the Island Food Systems Programme, through which WorldFish has established integrated fisheries and agriculture activities, including a demonstration garden at its Nusatupe Hub.
It designed to provide practical training in organic farming to strengthen sustainable agriculture, improve household nutrition and enhance food security for communities in Gizo and surrounding areas.
Trainers from Kastom Gaden Association and WorldFish Research Fellow, Wilsman Rau and Dr Jillian Tutuo led the training.
Tutuo delivered an interactive presentation on nutrition, encouraging students to adopt healthier eating habits by consuming more locally grown and traditional foods.
She highlighted the importance of balanced diets in preventing non-communicable diseases and urged young people to reduce their reliance on imported and highly processed foods.
Students received both classroom and practical lessons on key organic farming techniques, including nursery management, the importance of different nursery types, soil preparation and mixing, seed sowing, seed germination, pricking out seedlings, soil sterilisation, rapid plant multiplication and seed testing.
The students also gained hands-on experience by transplanting seedlings, applying mulching techniques and producing compost, giving them practical skills they can use in home gardens and community farming projects.
Students described the training as both timely and relevant, saying they were increasingly concerned about the growing number of diabetes cases and other health issues linked to processed food consumption in Solomon Islands.
The students said the programme has inspired them to establish home gardens and encourage healthier eating habits within their families and communities.
WorldFish and the Kastom Gaden Association say initiatives such as the training play an important role to build resilient island food systems by equipping young people with practical agricultural knowledge while improving nutrition and strengthening community food security.
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