Page 31 - IB December 2021

Agriculture

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you further.
Agriculture Minister Willie Kalo with a sample of NAPIL’s impressive harvest.

VANUATU STUDENTS
LEARN TO FARM

AND SAVE

By Len Garae

Vanuatu’s government would like to see all Agriculture
Farming Rural Training Centres copy the approach of NAPIL
Farming Rural Training Centre, a rural community agriculture
school where it is compulsory for all new intakes to open a
bank account as a condition of enrolment.
The initiative is the first of its kind in the country.
The school was established by the local community in an
agriculture rich area of Tanna called Middle Bush, which is
regarded as the “food bowl” of the volcanic island.
NAPIL’s success, and training style has caught the attention
of Minister of Agriculture, Willie Kalo and his Director
General, Moses Amos, who want to see it replicated. They Reliability and seamless transitions between
visited recently, presenting the centre with a mini tractor all modes of transport and authorities are
to plough the land and seeing first-hand the harvest of giant
carrots and other innovations at the school. the basis of successful supply chains. So
At NAPIL, each student is allocated a personal plot of land in order to guarantee the success of our
to farm, applying the theory they learn in their classrooms. customers, our service extends not only
Teachers monitor and assess each student’s performance from port to port, but also from door to
every step of the way, when they harvest their crops at door and from person to person. From the
maturity and are helped to sell them. production site to the onshore logistics to
The revenue earned is deposited in the student’s bank the final destination, we go the extra mile
account. for you while always remaining where we
When the student’s training is complete, they are awarded like it best: by your side.
their Certificate, and receive their savings bank book. “In his
account, he must have earned and saved at least Vt100,000
(US$880) from his plot to start him off as a young farmer”,
says the school’s manager.
It means a young farmer has not only the knowledge, but
also the funds they have earned to buy new tools or other
goods needed to start their career as a commercial farmer. www.hamburgsud.com

editor@islandsbusiness.com

Islands Business, December 2021 31