Experts stress need for crop adequate research in Pacific

Experts for Pacific agriculture on Thursday stressed the need for crop adequate research in the region, saying the previous attempts to intensify production of crops in the Pacific have not included adequate research and development.
The experts made the comments on Thursday at a five-day workshop organized by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community ( SPC) in the Sigatoka Research Station in western Fiji.
Dr Mike Furlong of University of the Queensland (UQ) held that some important areas in this regard had been overlooked, and therefore a focus of the new project will be building regional and national research and development capacity for SPC and national partners and establishing a framework for a longer-term program to begin problem-solving research focused on vegetable production.
The important areas that have been overlooked include identification of well-adapted varieties, development of locally relevant sustainable production technologies and serious threats to health and the environment, he added.
Inoke Ratukalou, acting director of SPC’s Land Resources Division, also emphasized the need to continue research and development to improve crop production and diversification.
According to him, the SPC has been a partner in several of the integrated pest management (IPM) projects that constitute the platform on which the new project is based with an introduction and exchange of crop genetic resources and information through its Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT).
Ratukalou acknowledged the support of regional participants and encouraged them to continue their support through the new project, saying “your gathering itself marks another effort that SPC is taking in the region, particularly in Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Island and Tonga, to manage and especially adapt to the impacts of pests and diseases.”
The workshop aims to help Pacific Island countries and territories strengthen their production of valuable crops by better managing pests and diseases. It ends on Friday. [PNA/Xinhua]