The IFAD Pacific Islands Partnership Strategy has two strategic objectives: (i) promoting production, consumption, and import substitution of locally grown and indigenous foods in environmentally sustainable ways, and (ii) increasing farm and non-farm income and employment opportunities. It focuses on isolated areas facing hardship, prioritizing women, youth, and disadvantaged communities. IFAD's programs in the Pacific engage in areas like community development, social and economic empowerment, food and nutrition security, high-value niche markets, and climate change adaptation. Lessons learned indicate that communities can find solutions when provided with adequate support, building on traditional knowledge through local institutions is effective, and partnerships are instrumental to designing appropriate interventions.

1. IFAD Pacific Islands Partnership Strategy
• Two strategic objectives:
(i) Promoting production, consumption, marketing of and
import-substitution with locally grown/indigenous foods in
environmentally sustainable ways
(ii) Increasing farm&non-farm income generating and
employment opportunities.
• Focus on isolated areas facing hardship (e.g. atolls, outer
islands and upland and marginal areas)
• Prioritizing women, youth and disadvantaged communities
• Promoting participatory approaches/CDD as project delivery
mechanism

2. IFAD’s programmes in the Pacific:
areas of engagement
•Community development, (grass root) institutional building,
local governance systems
• Social and economic empowerment of disadvantaged groups,
women and the youth
•Food and nutrition security and import-subsitution of
processed foods with locally grown and indigenous food
systems and crops
•High value niche markets of local products, organic
certification and inclusive value chain development
•Climate change adaptation, relience building, and disaster risk
prevention& mitigation

3. Lessons learned
•Communities in remote rural areas can find solutions to the
challenges they face when provided with adequate facilitation, clear
guidance and support.
•Building on traditional knowledge and working through local
institutions and social structures is effective to community
empowerment, engaging youth and women, and strengthening
competitiveness of local foods in markets.
•Partnerships with local/regional NGOs/CSOs and farmer/regional
organizations are instrumental to designing and implementing
socially and culturally appropriate interventions and build capacity of
regional and in-country stakeholders
•Leveraging private investment in agriculture, including through PPPs,
enable smallholders respond to market opportunities, achieve
economies of scale, develop skills, and reduce transaction costs.

4. Potential Areas of Engagement
•Need to work with existing farmer organisations such as
PIFON.
• Consolidate existing partnerships with other agencies such
as PIPSO and CTA.
•Develop and Implement Organic Standards through
POETcom.
•Share Best practices from other countries such as Tonga
and Solomon Islands.
•Financing available from IFAD to be requested by the
Government of Samoa.

5. Thank you for your attention