NEWSPAGE 04 February
2011

(Photos: eventpolynesia.com)

NEW ZEALAND: Thousands gather in Wellington to watch NZI Sevens parade

(Photos: Cunard Line)

SAMOA: Queen Elizabeth coming to Samoa
Source: Samoa Observer

One of the world’s newest ocean liners is coming to Samoa bringing 2000 passengers to the capital.

The Queen Elizabeth left Los Angeles on its maiden voyage and is due in Wellington on February 19.

From the US, the 90,900-tonne liner will sail to Hawaii, Western Samoa, American Samoa and Fiji, before debuting in New Zealand when she visits Bay of Islands on Wednesday February 16.

Stretching 294 metres in length, the four-month old Queen Elizabeth is expected to attract hundreds of sightseers.

Launched in Britain by The Queen in October last year, Queen Elizabeth pays homage to Cunard’s original Queen Elizabeth.

Guests can enjoy more than 700 private balcony cabins, more than 10 restaurants and cafes and a games deck including paddle tennis, croquet and bowls.

Queen Elizabeth also offers a two-storey library complete with leaded glass ceiling and a globe from the original Queen Elizabeth.

Photo Caption: The Italian-built ship can carry 2,068 passengers.
 

(Photo: Australia-Pacific Technical College)

AUSTRALIA: Meriam leads the way
Source: Australia-Pacific Technical College

"Meriam is an excellent example of a young woman showing that women can be leaders in the non-traditional trades in the Pacific."

APTC Trainer, Leigh Rollo readily gives Certificate III Engineering Mechanical Trade student Meriam Utran high praise.

Meriam has returned to the Samoa Campus from her home in Vanuatu to complete the third block of her training course after a break from studies to have her first child, daughter Nyla, who is now 10 months old.

"I was interested in the Fitting and Machining trade in year 12 at school," explained Meriam.

"I was good at science and maths, I enjoy drawing and design, and I like working with my hands and doing calculations."

On leaving school, Meriam took advantage of opportunities available for women to enter the trade, undertaking an apprenticeship with Vanuatu Beverage.

This led to her enrolment with APTC, beginning the first training block of her Certificate III course at the Samoa Campus in 2008.

Meriam's partner is taking good care of their daughter back in Vanuatu, "But I am missing her. I talk to her on the phone three or four times a week."

Despite this, she encourages other women in trades to apply to APTC.

"It's an experience they will enjoy, I am enjoying it. The male students treat me well. We do class exercises and practical activities together, and help each other. They treat me as a sister and with respect."

Photo Caption: Meriam hard at work in the Samoa Campus workshop.
 

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Showtime for Women’s National Soccer League
Source: The National

The Women’s National Soccer League (WNSL) will be officially launched in Lae and Port Moresby this weekend.

In a low-key announcement at PNGFA Office at Sir John Guise Indoor Complex, WNSL coordinator Simon Koima confirmed that eight teams would be participating in the six-week competition.

The teams confirmed for Port Moresby are Inter University FC, Hekari FC, Bizprints Angels (otherwise known as Murik United) and PNGIPA FC while Lae’s sides are Bara, PNG Power, Central Lae and Wau Soccer Association.

Koima clarified that there would not be a “fly-in fly-out” competition.

Both Port Moresby and Lae would have separate competitions, and the top side from each competitions would play in a grand final.

The WNSL final would be the curtain raiser for men’s final.

Koima thanked those franchises for putting up teams in the inaugural women’s national soccer league season.

The coordinator said female officials would control the matches, and he called on all former players to take part as coach, managers and as referees, assistant referees and fourth officials.

He said women’s football needed to build on this initiative, and encouraged more women to follow recently ticketed FIFA referee Yanting Yagum.

Former PNG representative and Inter University manageress Jennifer Popat commended PNGFA and the NSL board for initiating the national league for women.

She said the purpose of her franchise putting up the team was to provide avenues for untapped talent to push for selection in representative teams.

“University have been one of the main contributing club to representative teams in the past and will continue to do so with the introduction of women soccer league,” she said.

Hekari’s Vonnie Kapi Natto said she fully endorsed Popat’s comment on a national women’s competition.

“I’m excited about it because I’ve asked John (NSL chairman) why there isn’t a women’s competition, and now its happening so now women can show their true colours on the field,” she said.

It is a positive step for soccer because PNG is number one in the Pacific region.

To maintain and build on PNG’s ranking in the region it is hoped the women’s national side selected from the WNSL is able to play friendlies against other countries in the Oceania region, including New Zealand.
 

(Photo: Nguna-Pele Marine Protected Area)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: SPC assisting to revive the ngali nut industry
Source: Solomon Star

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) is supporting Solomon Islands enterprise Maraghoto Holdings in reviving the ngali nut industry through its European Union-funded Facilitating Agricultural Commodity Trade (FACT) project.

The aim of the FACT project is to build capacity to increase local, regional and overseas trade in agricultural and forestry products from SPC member countries.

Maraghoto has been processing and trading ngali nut as its core product locally for some time now.

It is currently working towards exporting its ngali nut products in 2012.

Maraghoto is reviving this industry after the Commodity Export and Marketing Authority (CEMA) stopped processing and trading the product in the 1990s.

Despite the decision of CEMA, ngali nut is believed to have strong potential as an exportable commodity.

The international market for ngali nut products, especially oils for body care products and kernels for gourmet food stores, is expected to increase in the future.

A major hurdle in getting this industry off the ground, however, is the limited supply.

There are not enough ngali nuts to meet the current demands, and therefore overseas buyers are not willing to develop the market for the product.

Attempts were made in Vanuatu to export ngali nuts, but these faced the same problem: the supply was not great enough to meet the local market in Port Vila, let alone overseas demands.

One idea that has been discussed at Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) meetings and other forum is the possibility of pooling the ngali nut resources of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to support a viable and more consistent supply for the international export market.

This approach represents a good way forward.

According to FACT trade facilitation assistant Dr Shane Tutua, the common sentiment expressed to him by overseas buyers during his recent overseas trade mission was, ‘if you provide a good price, good quality and consistency in supply, we have a deal’.

Consistency is still our major limitation and we need to find ways to overcome this hurdle.

Maraghoto, through support from SPC and other organisations, is working with some communities to address the challenges faced by the industry.

In particular, it is identifying supply chains with communities, especially with the Tetepare descendants association, as an immediate measure to source the nuts.

It is also encouraging the establishment of nut groves or smallholder plantations as the means to increase the supply.

The current supply of ngali nuts comes mostly from trees planted by our grandparents and those growing wild.

We must grow the nut trees in a more commercial way, just as we grow coconuts and cocoa. The SPC FACT project is supporting this initiative through its Regional Germplasm Improvement Programme, which is headed by Solomon Islander Basil Gua.

Through this programme, ngali nut seeds around the country will be collected and grown in certain areas as seed stands, and then the best nut trees will be selected from these seed stands for distribution to farmers.

Mr Gua has already collected seeds from 84 trees in certain parts of the country and has raised at least 5000 seedlings at a site on Guadalcanal.

Any surplus from the establishment of the seed stands would be distributed to interested farmers. Farmers interested in receiving seedlings can contact Mr Gua at the SPC Solomon Islands Country Office in the Anthony Saru Building in Honiara (phone 25543), or Mr. Richard Raomae, Director Reforestation and Research, Ministry of Forestry.

Through the work of the now completed SPRIG (South Pacific Regional Initiative on Forest Genetic Resources) project supported by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Mr Gua was able to ascertain that selected ngali trees can produce high yields of nuts at only 3 or 4 years of age on Kolombangara.

This was an exciting discovery, as previously it was thought that ngali nuts took from 8 to 12 years to start fruiting.

Through the FACT project, SPC is also supporting Maraghoto in processing and value adding for ngali nut to increase its commercial value and trade.

In particular, it has supplied a hybrid biomas solar dryer to Maraghoto and provided technical expertise on its establishment and use.

The hybrid biomass solar dryer combines a solar drying system and a wood-heated oven to dry the nuts.

The idea is to use solar energy on sunny days and energy from wood on cloudy or rainy days, or a combination of both systems, to dry the nuts.

The dryer will allow Maraghoto to properly dry nut kernels bought from communities as well as allowing it to buy whole (uncracked) nuts from farmers.

The company prefers to buy whole nuts as the quality of nuts dried in this manner is much better. This is good news for farmers who are growing large groves of ngali nuts and don’t want to go through the laborious task of cracking the nuts themselves.

It will allow them to concentrate on growing as many trees as they can and harvesting the whole nuts.

The hybrid biomass solar dryer has been in place since November 2010, and Maraghoto is ready to buy whole nuts from farmers.

FACT also funded a food grade laboratory and provided technical expertise to enable Maraghoto to meet international standards and thus access export markets.

In addition, it provided some basic equipment to process, package and store the nut products.

This includes a ngali nut oil press to extract the oil, which is highly regarded in the body care and medicinal oil markets. On the marketing side, FACT provided technical expertise in designing attractive packaging labels and branding elements, and a new look shop front view, which will be implemented soon.

In addition to the assistance provided to Maraghoto, FACT is supporting the industry more generally through national mechanisms for increasing agricultural commodity trade.

As an example, FACT has been involved in the development of the Nut Growers Association of Solomon Islands (NGASI).

This organisation aims to bring together producers (farmers), processors and exporters of indigenous nuts and fruits with the goal of facilitating the production and trade of our local nuts, which include ngali nuts.

NGASI will be launched on 14 February 2011.

However, on 12 February there will be a radio show on SIBC and farmers intending to go into nut growing are encouraged to listen.

The show will feature a panel of nut experts and callers will be able to ask questions.

Information on how to become a member of NGASI will also be provided.

While the FACT project is focused on trade, it also places emphasis on ensuring that such commodity trade is sustainable and has a wide economic impact.

To do so, the project ensures that products come from sustainable production systems and the producers are socially responsible.

As such, it is promoting agro-forestry, organic and fair trade practices, which are also important in gaining premiums in the world markets.

An agroforestry approach of integrating crops such as cocoa, cut nut, alite, tulip, fruit trees, ginger, turmeric, slippery cabbage, wild yams and others with ngali nuts will not only increase income of stakeholders, but will also enhance food security and constitute an efficient method of land use.

Growing cocoa under ngali nuts (40 nut trees per hectare) in East New Britain, PNG, has proven to be very successful; therefore, we are encouraging such cropping systems with ngali nuts in Solomon Islands.

The SPC FACT project is proud to support this industry and Maraghoto as it increases its trade of nut products locally and prepares to enter the export market.

According to Dr Tutua, and Gideon Bouro, FACT trade facilitation assistants based in Solomon Islands, Maraghoto will be ready to export ngali nut products by 2012.

They believe that if each farmer in Solomon Islands establishes a small plantation of ngali nut, or even boundary plantings to support such a processing facility as that of Maraghoto, we can have a viable export industry in which all members of a community can participate: men, women and children.

Photo Caption: The SPC germplasm program ngali nut nursery at Tasimboko, Northeast Guadalcanal.
 

(Photo: World Health Organization)

WORLDWIDE: WHO to revitalize Healthy Islands initiatives in the Pacific
Source: World Health Organization Press Release

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pacific island countries are developing measures to revitalize the vision of creating "healthy islands" that has been the unifying theme for better health in the Pacific for more than a decade.

WHO will convene a steering group meeting in Nadi, Fiji, from 3 to 5 February 2011 to further efforts to develop these measures. The meeting will include experts from Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The members of the steering group will focus on combating the growing epidemic of lifestyle and noncommunicable diseases.

"The Pacific is one of the most beautiful places on earth," said Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. "Yet the threat of lifestyle diseases is so great that the future for Pacific islanders and the health of their children are endangered. We must take action now."

Dr Shin encouraged all government ministries and partner organizations to work together to provide a healthy environment and to encourage people to make the proper choices that will lead to better health.

"This steering group is an important step towards achieving our shared vision of healthy islands in the Pacific,” Dr Shin said.

The meeting will finalize the Framework of Action on Revitalizing Healthy Islands and consider for endorsement a noncommunicable disease outcome paper that identifies priority areas for scaling up noncommunicable disease prevention and control in the Pacific as a prelude to the September 2011 High-level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Noncommunicable Diseases.

For more information, please contact Dr Temo Waqanivalu, Technical Officer, Nutrition and Physical Activities, WHO South Pacific, at +679-3234-147 or e-mail [email protected]

Photo Caption: (L-R) Marshall Islands, Palau & Kiribati Ministers of Health.