Project Name：Strengthen Fruit and Vegetable Production and Enhance Nutrition Balance Project

Project status：Projects in Operation

Cooperating Country：Palau, Asia-Pacific

Project Description：

The Palauan government seeks to build on the achievements of previous projects as a foundation for further extension. The goal is to continually increase the involvement of Palauan citizens in horticulture to boost local fruit and vegetable production, enhance access to diverse local crops, and promote food and agriculture education alongside healthy eating habits. By reinforcing the public's understanding of balanced nutrition, the government aims to gradually reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and preserve the nation's human capital. The key focus areas of this project include: 1. Promoting the local production of diverse fruits and vegetables in Palau to improve the availability of fresh produce; 2. Supporting the implementation of Palau's dietary and nutrition policies and education to enhance the population's nutritional intake.

Region：Asia-Pacific

Implementation Start Date：2024-01-01

Implementation End Date：2028-12-31

Project Objectives：

1. Assist in Establishing Diverse Dietary Nutrition Concepts

(1) Conduct 10 clinical dietary nutrition education and training workshops.

(2) Design 5 school nutrition meal menus, organize 5 chef training sessions, and hold 15 school cafeteria nutrition education events.

(3) Publish 10 healthy recipes and 10 health-related articles in Palau's media.

(4) Collaborate with the Palauan government to establish 1 nutrition assessment mechanism, collect relevant health data, and produce 1 report based on the gathered health information.

(5) Observe changes in Palauans' healthy eating attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors, design a questionnaire, and survey 1,200 people.

(6) Provide long-term consultations to community members, totaling 100 sessions per person annually, and organize 10 community nutrition and cooking demonstration sessions.

(7) Provide cooking equipment and materials for school cafeterias.

2. Promote the Productivity of Diverse Crop Production in Palau

(1) Produce 130 tons of fruits and vegetables at the demonstration farm to supply school lunch programs and local markets.

(2) Provide guidance to 6 school farms to deepen food and agriculture education.

(3) Establish an online consultation platform to provide guidance to 20 farming households and home gardens.

(4) Hold 10 eco-friendly farming training sessions and 5 community-based farming and gardening experience workshops.

(5) Produce 750 cubic meters of compost.

(6) Establish a smart environmental monitoring system at the demonstration farm, collect agricultural meteorological data, and complete a report with agricultural meteorology and crop cultivation management recommendations.

3. Assist in Capacity Building for Relevant Personnel of Palauan Government Units

(1) Provide 15 technical and policy consultations for personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and the Environment, the Ministry of Health and Human Services, and the Ministry of Education.

Executing Agency：

Taiwan Technical Mission in the Republic of Palau / Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and the Environment (Republic of Palau)

Current Progress：

By the end of June 2024, the key achievements of this project include:

1. The demonstration farm has produced 18,977 kilograms of fruits and vegetables.

2. Propagated 54,000 taro seedlings.

3. Produced 78 cubic meters of compost.

4. Established an online consultation platform for farmers and continued to provide guidance to 6 school farms and 19 home gardens in vegetable and fruit production techniques.

5. Provided 6,697 kilograms of fruits and vegetables for school lunch programs.

6. Designed 1 school nutrition meal plan.

7. Conducted 5 clinical dietary nutrition education sessions.

8. Published 1 health column.

9. Held 6 community diatary nutrition and cooking training sessions.

Implementation Progress：

An increase of over 30% in the project's beneficiaries 'Individual Dietary Diversity Score' (IDDS).

Project Contact：Wenning Liang

Phone：886-2-2888-6138

E-mail：w.n.liang@icdf.org.tw

Mission：Taiwan Technical Mission in the Republic of Palau