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MELANESIAN FARMER FIRST NETWORK

The objective of the Melanesian Farmers First Network (MFFN) is to improve household food security and community health through an effective regional network that:

• improves the sharing of information through improved communications throughout Melanesia
• builds the capacity of partner organisations
• scales-up successful examples to assist rural people in Melanesia.

Project coordination

• TerraCircle provides the services of Network coordinator, Tony Jansen and support services
• the project is accommodated at the Kastom Gaden Association premises, Honiara, Solomon Islands
• monitoring visits are carried out by the Network coordinator with the assistance of others as required.

The Network

MFFN member organisations include:

• Kastom Gaden Association (KGA), Solomon Islands
• Planting Material Network (PMN), Solomon Islands
• Paruparu Education Development Centre (PEDC), Bougainville, PNG
• Community Based Health Care (CBHC), Southern Highlands, PNG
• Farm Support Association (FSA), Vanuatu
• Bougainville Food Security Network.

The Melanesian Farmers First Network (MFFN):

• was proposed in a concept paper at the beginning of 2002 at the request of Dr Jimmy Rogers, deputy director-general of the South Pacific Commission (SPC)
• is developing a network of regional, grass roots organisations to expand to the region the successful experience of the Solomon Islands Kastom Gaden Association
• started operation in October 2002 with funding from Australian NGO, Oxfam Community Aid Abroad.

In its first year, the Farmers First Network has:

• established a management committee
• identified the strengths and weaknesses of partners
• started Melanesian-to-Melanesian exchange among partners
• developed a plan for the deployment of an email communications network for MFFN partners
• networked with donors and regional organisations
• held an annual meeting at Tari, PNG Southern Highlands.

Partner organisations have shown expertise in the basics of establishing food security through:

• seed production
• the operation of community-based seed networks
• agriculture and livestock training
• the production of training material.

Small business training, passed on through the train-the-trainer method, will be a feature of future activity.

Long-term approach necessary

To realise the long-term objective of scaling-up and replicating the experience of successful, community-based food security and community health NGOs, a programme extending over 5 to 10 years will be necessary. This will enable extension and replication into other areas.

The Network is investigating international trends in mainstreaming the work of small organisations in sustainable agriculture.

Farmers First Network - year two

The second year of the Melanesian Farmers First Network is based on a modest programme of Melanesian-to-Melanesian exchange:

• two training courses for partner organisations to build capacity in management skills (financial, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation)
• training in methods of participatory research
• deployment and support of an email network
• lobbying of donors for long-term project support
• establishing concrete links
• funding the core strategic activities of each partner.

An annual meeting took place at the Kastom Gaden Association premises, Honiara, Solomon Islands, in December 2003. Effective financial management was explored during the meeting.

Managing risk

Civil unrest

Civil unrest is a risk to all areas of the project. CBHC, PEDC and KGA/ PMN have demonstrated their ability to operate in situations of conflict and civil unrest. This is a key strength achieved through:

• decentralisation
• organisational effectiveness
• individual commitment
• locally developed and supported programmes.

Despite this, a serious deterioration in security would impact the programme and activities may have to be scaled back for a time were unrest to eventuate.

Poor communication

This slowed activities during the first year. The situation is being addressed through:

• the deployment of an email HF (high frequency) radio-linked network in cooperation with the Solomon Island-based People First Networks (PFNet); the hamlet of Silolo, North Malaita, came online with a HF radio-based email station in mid-2003; CBHC in Tari, Southern Highlands Province, PNG, came online in December 2003
• increased personal and organisational visits
• system establishment, training and support through PFNet in the Solomon Islands to develop the Melanesia-to-Melanesia approach.

Accountability and timely reporting

Partners are to be provided with funds as part of the programme.

Preparation includes:

• the issuing of requirements and guidelines by the MFFN management committee before the release of funds
• training and agreed minimum standards of financial management to be provided during the year; partners have varying levels of experience in managing and acquitting funds
• periodic monitoring visits to detect problems and identify needs.

Other considerations

Gender issues

• women are key beneficiaries
• gender awareness will be included in programmes
• women and men will participate in exchanges and training as appropriate to the needs of organisations and beneficiary groups
• the two training courses will include components on gender sensitivity
• additional funding will be sought for training in gender analysis.

Environment

• the project is environmentally-targetted in the sense that it promotes sustainable agriculture and resource management
• the project will increase the abilities of organisations that have expertise in addressing environmental concerns such as soil fertility, crop diversity conservation and management, reforestation, land management.

Project sustainability

• the effectiveness of the Network depends on the sourcing of funds to support a long-term programme of capacity building
• this is a more effective approach than current top-down programmes and is likely to be more cost-effective in the long-term; civil unrest limits the capacity of government to implement this type of activity
• for many beneficiaries, the partner organisations are the only means of support in food security, community health and livelihood development - it is for this reason that the Network, as a capacity building process, is critical to the sustainability of local organisations.

Australian identity

• signboards at project offices recognising Australian funding of Network activities
• Australian personnel in the form of the Network coordinator and involvement of an Australian Youth Ambassador (the Australian government programme) in development of the email system
• support of Australian TerraCircle members.

Monitoring and evaluation

• project supervision through MFFN management committee.

Situational analysis - the failure of conventional approaches

Foods security and sustainable livelihoods based around village agriculture and natural resource management in Melanesia are critical issues because of population growth and the resulting pressure on resources, economic decline, the decline of government services and the reality that 85 per cent of Solomon Islanders are semi-subsistence farmers living in small and usually isolated villages.

A high degree of self-reliance at the family, clan, community and local level provides an important security net and is a prerequisite for a reasonable quality of life for the majority of Melanesia's peoples.

Past approaches to address this have focused on the provision of government extension services and have proven ineffective due to the failure of conventional models of development.

Impediments to the development process include:

• poor communications
• limited access to funds
• lack of transport
• civil unrest.

Prolonged war and civil unrest in the PNG Southern Highlands, Bougainville (North Solomons Province, PNG) and the Solomon Islands has led to the near total collapse of government services related to food security and community health.

New approaches are needed. A number of Melanesian NGOs have demonstrated alternative approaches that are effective and locally specific although they remain isolated exceptions.

The Network's role

The Melanesian Farmers First Network will assist these Melanesian NGOs making use of alternative approaches to development by developing a network to link the groups and other regional organisations, governments and donors so that they can build their capacity and sustainability and increase the chances of local initiatives reaching rural beneficiaries.

The organisations have shown that they are capable of operating during conflict and unrest.

Outputs

The outputs of the MFFN project include:

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