NEWSPAGE
09 November
2011

(Photo: Flickr)

(Photo: Savali News)

SAMOA: Samoa set for nonu riches
Source: Savali News

If you ever needed a reason to go into agriculture, Pure Pacifica Samoa has five million for you.

By 2013, the company plans to send five million litres of nonu juice to China.Up from the three million litres it is contracted to send next year.

“Nonu has huge potential and those orders are a huge undertaking for us,” said Pure Pacifika Samoa - the leading nonu exporter in the country - spokesman Faumuina Apulu Lance Polu.

Last week, the company sent eight 20×40 containers containing 144,000 litres of juice to China, its biggest shipment yet.

“We plan to send another eight containers next week,” said Faumuina.

“We have to do that every fortnight to meet our quota.”

And it is fetching good coin for nonu growers in the country.

A fourteen-kilogram bucket fetches $9 from Pure Pacifika Samoa. More than twice the price offered by other nonu exporters.

To break that down even more. Some 300-400 nonu trees can grow on just an acre of land. At current price, that acre can fetch you between $22,000 - $25,000 a year. Plant five acres and it will be an easy annual income of $110,000.

So much so that some farmers are switching to nonu as well as public servants who normally don’t farm.

“The CEO of Agriculture has started on his five-acre plot and Richard Cook of Saleimoa Plantation is harvesting a lot of nonu.”

“Since May, Pure Pacifika Samoa has given out over a quarter million tala to nonu farmers in both Upolu and Savaii.”

Pure Pacifika is working closely with agriculture in a programme to create awareness of good nonu tree husbandry as well as developing enough planting material for potential nonu growers.

If all goes well, said Faumuina, Pure Pacifika is in line to sign a ten-year deal with partner Tupa’ilelei Jack Chen’s New Zealand Milk and Dairy Products - the Chinese nonu importer.

PREMIUM

“Nonu is used as a base for a range of premium beverages developed by Tupa’ilelei’s company. Tupa’ilelei also has over 3000 shops throughout China. So in essence, we are supplying to a big beverage company and also a huge beverage distributor in China.”

Pure Pacifika Samoa trucks are now a common feature on our backroads - in both Upolu and Savaii - collecting nonu from families who bring it by the bucket-load to the roadside.

“Our business concept is to provide an income for those at the grassroots level. Nonu grows wild here and doesn’t need much upkeep.Very ideal for our people who struggle to come up with the necessary capital to invest on other complicated farming venture.”

And this is no fly-by-night industry, said Faumuina.

“Nonu is not susceptible to any major disease. And studies have pointed out that the best nonu come from Samoa.”

A study undertaken by its importer, Faumuina said, concluded that nonu from Samoa was of a higher quality than nonu from Niue, Cook Islands, Tahiti and elsewhere in the Pacific.

“The quality of the nonu is measured in a chemical measurement called bricks. Samoan nonu averaged around nine bricks while that from Niue and the Cook Islands was just six, six-point-five at the most. We don’t know yet if it’s the weather or the soil that produces premium nonu in Samoa. But one thing is certain, our nonu is sort after.”

The company’s depot at Salelologa is now in full operation. The nonu is brought to its bfactory in Vaitele where it is fermented for three months and pasteurized into nonu juice. The juice is then poured into flexitanks inside the 20×40 foot container that are shipped off.

WATER

Faumuina said the operation uses a substantial amount of water and government has been asked to improve the water supply at its Vaitele factory.

“Especially during this prolonged dry season.

“Another way government can help is to improve the inland road systems in both Upolu and Savaii. Some of these roads are very bad and trucks are having a hard time getting to farms inland.”

Pure Pacifika Samoa has 40 employees working three shifts - round the clock - at its Vaitele factory.

Photo 1 - Pure Pacifika spokesman Faumuina Lance Polu and Savali’s Tupuola Terry Tavita.

Photo 2 - Saleimoa Plantation.
 

(Photo: J. Kneubuhl)

AMERICAN SAMOA: ASCC ROTC Cadets Practice Survival Skills in Field Training Exercise

The young men and women cadets of the ROTC program at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) braved this past weekend’s inclement weather to hone their combat scenario skills during a Field Training Exercise (FTX) from December 1st through 3rd. Under the command of CPT Filimataisina M. Vaiau and SFC Kitzingen B. Moliga, 100 cadets utilized both the ASCC campus and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) compound in Tafuna as staging areas for the three-day exercise.

“Through the FTX, we prepare cadets for the next higher class as they transition to a four-year university after ASCC,” explained CPT Vaiau. “In this extended lab training they are evaluated by a Leadership Development Program, a tool used in the ROTC realm to evaluate their leadership roles on character, presence, intellectual capacity and core leader competencies.” Each cadet in the program is ranked by MS I (first year) or MS II (second year). MS II cadets are placed in higher positions either as staff or platoon positions.

Components of the FTX included Day/ Night Land Navigation, Squad Tactical Lanes (Battle Drills), Weapons Familiarization, Nine-Line Medevac, and a Ruck March from ASCC to the FAA. Day 1 began on the ASCC campus with the issuance of operations orders for and the breakdown of the cadets into companies and squads. Day 2 began with a 4:30 a.m. deployment from ASCC to the FAA field, where simulated combat conditions took place to test the cadets’ decision making in different scenarios. At the FAA site, nine squads rotated activities on the hour and the training proceeded without interruption even as the weather made conditions increasingly uncomfortable. Day 3 consisted of a breakdown and cleanup of the FAA training site.

SFC Moliga and CPT Vaiau modeled their format on an earlier FTX held by the ROTC at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, which SFC Moliga took part in. They also received crucial assistance from the local Army Reserve. “Soldiers from the 442nd 100th BN B and C Company assisted us by acting as cadres,” said CPT Vaiau. “With their experience in ROTC training and cadet evaluation, each cadre instructed, evaluated, and counseled their respective squad as they rotated activities by the hour.” CPT Vaiau credited Reservists SSG Hirata, SSG Leasiolagi, SGT Polu, SGT Nohira, SGT Tima, SGT Sete, SGT Solaita, SPC Alvarado, SPC Titania, SPC Viena, SPC Malae and SPC Talamoni for performing at the highest standards of military professionalism during the FTX.

In the midst of the rigorous schedule, the trainees were allowed a period of daily “family time” when each cadet’s family members could visit the training site to offer encouragement and see how their son or daughter was holding up. Despite the weather, the cadets all completed the exercise without falling prey to any injury or illness. “FTX was the most memorable and learning experience that a student could ever go through,” reflected Cadet Jennifer Rebelukag. “It was hard, yet fun, exhausting yet exhilarating, but in the end, it had made us become closer as a unit, as a company, and most of all as a family. As we say, ‘One heart, one fight.’ We are one team!”

Herself an ASCC graduate, CPT Vaiau expressed optimism at the progress of ROTC at the College. “The program continues to grow and we have potential cadets that will one day make great officers and leaders in the community,” she said. “American Samoa students from ASCC currently make up 10 percent of the UH Manoa Warrior Battalion. Here at home, 22 cadets will be graduating this semester and transferring to a four year university. We have eight candidates awaiting approval for ROTC scholarships. In the nearest future we hope to involve the JROTC cadets in the high schools in the FTX, and implement a mentorship program to our local high school cadets.”

On behalf of the entire program, CPT Vaiau expressed her gratitude to the staff of ASCC, especially Mr. Misi Tauai and his security staff, Installation Commander MAJ Rodney Parker, 100th BN B Co Commander CPT Tuliloa Tuliloa, 100th BN C Co Commander CPT Blake Byars, JROTC HQ Mr. Mapu Jamias, 411th EN Commander CPT Puletasi Wong-Mageo and especially to the families of the cadets.

The ASCC ROTC is under the UH Manoa Warrior Battalion, and its mission is to recruit, retain and commission future officers in the United States Army, Army Reserves and Army National Guard. For more information on the program, contact CPT Vaiau or SFC Moliga at 699-8820.

Photos: Cadets from the ASCC ROTC program take a break during the Field Training Exercise which took place this past weekend. Despite inclement weather, the cadets participated in numerous combat scenarios staged on the ASCC campus as well as the FAA field in Tafna.

(Photo: Jonacani Lalakobau)

FIJI: New Zealand musicians tour Fiji
Source: Fiji Times Online

A GROUP of young New Zealand musicians, some with local blood ties, are in the country conducting a series of workshops and concerts to empower young people.

Led by Fitaloa Bryce, a campus minister at the University of Auckland, the group is called Purpose Defined and their aim is to show young people how to use their talents to glorify God.

The group consists of artists of different genres, musicians, dancers and photographers and was put together by Ms Bryce.

A large crowd gathered at TappooCity in Suva yesterday to watch a concert which featured songs and dancing along with performances by local artists like X9-Homies and Elena Baravilala.

"Everything we're doing here is for the honour of God and we want to show young people how to use their talents to glorify God," Ms Bryce said.

"All our events so far have attracted good crowds and we'd like to invite people to our 10am and 7pm workshops at the Lami Gospel Community Church (today)," Ms Bryce said.

She said young people worldwide faced many negative influences and needed advice on how to handle them.

"We're here to show them that there's a way through God," Ms Bryce said.

"Most members of this group come from troubled backgrounds and have testimonies about how they got out through God."

Ms Bryce said another concert would be held at the Lami Gospel Community Church at 7pm on Saturday.

She said members of the group felt "so blessed" by the warm welcome they received in Fiji.

Photo: Members of the Purpose Defined Christian group of New Zealand entertain the crowd at TappooCity in Suva yesterday.
 

NEW CALEDONIA: Gun sales soar in New Caledonia
Source: Radio New Zealand International
 

Gun sales have skyrocketed this year in New Caledonia after the relaxation of regulations for the firearms market in March.

Noumea’s daily newspaper, Les Nouvelles Caledoniennes, reports government figures as showing that 2500 weapons, mostly hunting rifles, have been sold since the beginning of the year, against 1800 for 2010.

Since the territory’s regulations on arms sales were eased, the number of guns available in the market and the level of firearms imports have exploded.

The value of firearms imports to date this year is around 1.6 million US dollars, double last year’s figure.

Police say that although there’s been an increase in crime in New Caledonia this year, firearms-related crime has not increased.
 

NIUE: Concerns raised after Niue MPs vote themselves big salary increases
Source: Radio New Zealand International
 
A Niue opposition MP says pay increases for assembly members are a waste of the island’s money.

MPs voted for the increases last week, with the premier getting a payrise of nearly 12-thousand US dollars, ministers about 9 thousand, and backbenchers 12 and a half thousand US dollars.

Terry Coe says the Premier told parliament the increases are being paid for from the interest on the country’s trust fund.

He says that money would be better spent on development.

“The premier has to bring to the house a supplementary budget to pay for these increases. He hasn’t done that yet. But I don’t think they’ve got the trust money, and I am not sure that New Zealand and Australia would agree for using the trust money for salary increases.”