Project Name：Horticulture Project (Marshall Islands)

Project status：Completed projects

Cooperating Country：Asia-Pacific, Marshall Islands

Project Description：Rough estimates suggest that foodstuffs represent 30 percent of all imports to the Marshall Islands. Dependency on imported foods leaves the country vulnerable to escalating prices on the world market, with the distribution of food to remote outer islands also raising fuel costs and prices even further. Meanwhile, in terms of local crop production, periodic droughts have impacted negatively upon such production.

Many of the Marshall Islands’ traditional crop varieties have demonstrated tolerance to the difficult growing environment and thus remain crucial to the diet of local people. This project will enable vulnerable households to grow their own supply of local crops, sufficient to meet households’ dietary needs, and thereby reduce reliance on more costly, imported foods.

The project is to assist the RMI to increase the yield in traditional food crops which will target and support food security. The project will establish a seedling nursery at Laura Farm for provision of seedlings that will also include traditional seedlings.

The content of the project will include the following:

1. Set up a committee to manage the project.
2. Set up standards procedures for the production of seedlings.
3. Provide and distribute traditional seedlings in RMI.
4. Provide training for cultivation of vegetables, crop propagation, composting and to also include cooking demonstrations of locally grown vegetation.
5. Provide assistance to the outer islands to set up farms.
6. Strengthen the mechanism and integration of resources for
   the distribution of local seedlings to the outer islands.
7. Provide assistance in capacity building of technicians of the
   outer islands. 
8. Manage production of compost.
9. Promote vegetable crop cultivation in Majuro.
10. Providing assistance to schools to set up school gardens.
    

To watch the video made by the TaiwanICDF: Horticulture Project (Marshall Islands)

Implementation Start Date：2015-01-01

Implementation End Date：2020-12-31

Project Objectives：

1. Improve and increase the quality and quantity of crops that are being grown and to produce 2,400 bread-fruit seedlings, 2,400 lime seedlings, 2,400 bell apple seedlings, 28,800 papaya seedlings, 2,400 banana seedlings, 48,000 sweet potato seedlings, 48,000 cassava seedlings and 24,000 taro seedlings at Laura Farm with a total of 158,000 seedlings to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Commerce to provide to the outer island sub-centers; in addition 75,000 seedlings  will be provided to the outer island sub-centers for extension in 2019 and 2020.
2. Increase propagation during 2019-2020 of kale, Chinese cabbage, bok-choi, eggplant, Chinese mustard, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, melon, cucumber, papaya, bitter melon, sponge gourd, pumpkin, long bean, bush bean, radish, asparagus, sweet corn, for a total of 30,000 seedlings, to be provided for extension and to school gardens in Majuro. 
3. Produce cultivation calendars for sweet potato, tapioca, taro,banana, bread-fruit, papaya, lime and bell apples.
4. Produce handbooks for cultivation of sweet potato, tapioca, taro, banana, breadfruit, papaya, lime and bell apples.
5. Provide 12 training course on cultivation for Ebon, Maloelap, Ailinglaplap, Arno, Jaluit, Kili, Enewetak, Mili, Likiep, Wotje, Ailuk and Namu.
6. Provide assistance to farmers in the 12 outer islands of Ailinglaplap, Arno, Ebon, Jaluit, Maloelap, Mili, Namu, Wotje, Kili, Enewetak, Likiep and Ailuk and to have reports for each visit for a total of 12 reports to be submitted.
7. Hold 17 demonstration and training workshops in the Majuro area.
8. Produce 1,280 cubic meters of compost.
9. Hold 48 farmers’ markets with the Ministry of NRC.
10. Work with Ministry of NRC to provide guidance on marketing 84 tons of fruits and vegetables.
11. Hold three presentations of achievements and submit three reports.
12. Coordinate with the Ministry of NRC in providing assistance to 4 outer islands.
13. Provide assistance to 20 new extension farmers for vegetable cultivation in Majuro.
14. Assist a total of six schools gardens (including in the outer islands).
15. Conduct four meetings per year to have discussion on reporting and negotiation of distribution of seedlings. Total 24 project meetings.
    
    

Executing Agency：1.Taiwan Technical Mission in the Republic of the Marshall Islands
2.Ministry of Natural Resources and Commerce (Marshall Islands)
3.Local governments on outer islands (Marshall Islands)

Current Progress：To the end of December 2020, the following activities have been completed:
1. Produced 6,055 bread fruit seedlings, 39,092 taro seedlings, 108,746 sweet potato seedlings, 34,161 cassava seedlings, 48,785 papaya seedlings, 7,268 banana seedlings, 8,751 lime seedlings and 5,934 bell apple seedlings.
2. Maintained one vegetable cultivation demonstration site on Laura Farm; lettuce, asparagus, water spinach, radish, tomato, cucumber, pumpkin, long bean, bush bean, string bean, kale, bok choy, yellow cabbage, Chinese cabbage, okra, chili pepper, eggplant, melon, bitter melon, Chinese mustard, little cucumber, cherry tomatoes, rape, sweet corn , watermelon, bell pepper for a total of 30 different varieties of vegetables, and four types of fruits trees; kai-ying pineapple, passion fruit, pitaya and guava.
3. Held 105 farmers' markets.
4. Assisted the marketing operations of the Laura Farmers’ Association and provided guidance on marketing 101.52 tons of fruits and vegetables.
5. Produced 1386 cubic meters of compost.
6. Held 24 project meetings.
7. Provided technical counseling and training to the farmers of six outer islands; Arno, Aur, Maloelap, Jaluit, Ailinglaplap , Ebon, Wotje, Mili, Ailuk and Kwajalein atolls total 10 outer islands.
8. Coordinate with the Ministry of NRC in providing assistance to 4 sub-center (nursery) of outer islands.
9. Assist a total of 9 schools garden (including in the outer islands).
10. Provide assistance to 10 new extension farmers for vegetable cultivation in Ajeltake, Majuro.
11. Provide assistance to 10 new extension farmers for vegetable cultivation in Woja, Majuro.

Project Contact：Wang,Yen-Chih

Phone：886-2-28732323 Ext. 214

E-mail：y.j.wang@icdf.org.tw

Projected Benefits：It is expected that the project will:
1.Increase the Marshall Islands’ local crop production by 30 percent.
2.Improve health and food consumption through the increased local production crops and vegetables, benefitting an estimated total of 14,000 people.

Mission：Taiwan Technical Mission in the Republic of the Marshall Islands