The Commonwealth Local Government Forum’s Pacific office and partners have just produced a valuable new publication, which will aid sustainable food production.

The Farming Seagrapes Handbook: A practical guide for Edible Seaweed Farming was funded through the Canada Fund, via a grant provided to the CLGF. The aim of this project was to facilitate an exchange of information about seagrape cultivation and how this could be applied between Samoa and Kiribati.

Addressing overharvesting

While seagrapes are found in both countries, and can form an important part of local diets, there is a risk that wild resources will be exhausted through over-harvesting. Farming therefore presents a sustainable option, and the necessary techniques for this have been developed in Samoa.

In the past, there has not been much consumption of seagrapes in Kiribati, but they have the potential to provide a valuable source of nutrition in future. As it becomes increasingly difficult to grow vegetables on land, due to soil salination caused by climate change. While there are some areas where seagrapes could be wild-harvested, finding ways of ensuring sustainable production is important.

CLGF Pacific Regional Director, Ms Karibati Taoaba said: “Producing the handbook would not have been possible without the assistance of officers from the Samoan Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. As well as providing important information, they enabled visits to their production sites, and this has served as a foundation for the production of the handbook.”

Important contribution to sustainable food production

Ms Taoaba continued: “The Commonwealth Local Government Forum is currently working with the Kiribati Local Government Association and ICLEI to promote seagrape harvesting and consumption in South Tarawa. This is funded by the German Government through its IKI program. This handbook will make an important contribution to this work.”