Plant health clinics are seen as a possible solution, bringing accurate, up-to-date knowledge to farmers and enabling them to care for their crops more effectively and in a timely manner.

Speaking during the plant health clinic graduation yesterday, College of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry Dean Dr. Kaliova Ravuiwasa highlighted that clinics can be a game changer for farmers in terms of sustainability and food security.

Dr. Kaliova Ravuiwasa emphasizes that plant health clinics are critical in addressing food security, looking at the impact of climate change.

“To understand about the behaviors of insects, about the behaviors of our plant pathogens, and how they are behaving in the current conditions that we are facing at the moment. So it is very important for us to prepare the next generation of technicians, the next generation of plant health doctors.”

He believes it is important to understand the concept of plant health clinics when it comes to sustainability and food security to help empower farmers.

Agriculture officer Mary Tagivetaua states that she will make sure to implement the knowledge and skills they gain to help address food security in their communities.

“So this is one of the barriers they face in terms of pests and disease. So we are the ground officers on the ground; we are the mouth; we are the frontliners; we advise farmers on the control measures that they have to take there and then.”

Participants from Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji graduated this morning with certificates in managing plant health clinics, a course supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.