Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Labour Matagaluega o Pisinisi, Alamanuia ma Leipa

P.O. Box 862Apia

SAMOATelephone: 20441Facsimile: 20443

Email: mpal@mcil.gov.ws.Website: www. mcil.gov. ws

Level 4, ACB House, Apia

[inclusive of Registries of Companies and Intellectual Property]

APPLICATION FORM CATEGORY B Small Projects AND CATEGORY A Application Form N.B. Applications for larger multi-year funding may require supplementary budget blank

for greater budget detail information. If a heading is not applicable (n/a) to your application, write ‘n/a’ as your response to that heading If you require more space for responses under each Question, please attach extra pages to this form.

Delivery of Applications- Category ‘A’ must be in both hard copy and e-copy (e-mail or on CD)- Category ‘B’ hard copy only- One clean and legible set of the completed Application Form along with relevant supporting documents including quotes

(in hard copy) is to be delivered to the Secretariat (MCIL) before 4.00 p.m. on the nominated closing date. Note: on receipt, each application will be allocated a reference number to assist later communications.

1. Project Title: Developing and promoting “new exotic fruits and nuts” (dragon fruit, longan and macadamia) for SAMOA (see pictures on last page).

2. Community of Interest/Applicant Group (who is to be involved/ group name; stakeholders represented)Family Project – Family Project

3. Project Team Composition (provide the individual’s name, designation, organisation & affiliation)

Project Manager/Group Leader: Tuulima Laiti

Designation:Organisation/Affiliation:

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The harmonised system for Development Partner funding support to the Private Sector Economy in Samoa

REF #:

4. Contact Details:

Name: Tuulima Laiti

Telephone: 7785303

Fax:

Address: Magiagi

Email: tuulimalaiti@gmail.com

5. The project background. Please explain the background to your proposal and the nature of the opportunity for which you / your group seeks funding support from the PSSF

The dragon fruit Hylocereus undatus (also known as pitaya) and longan, Dimocarpus longan, are two well known and very popular fresh fruits in South East Asia. Both fruits are major exports and foreign exchange earners for many Asian country economies like Vietnam, China and Thailand. Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia) on the other hand is a nut known as ‘lama’ in Samoa. Australia and Hawaii are the two world leaders in growing and processing macadamia nuts.

Both the dragon fruit and longan trees were introduced into Samoa (the former as cuttings and the later as seeds) from Thailand some six years ago as new varieties. For the past years, both plants have been nurtured and cultivated at Magiagi, some 150 meters above sea level. From then on, the fruit trees have been proven to grow and perform well in the Samoan environment. When cyclone Evan struck last year the dragon fruits sustained minimal damage. The longan trees however sustained some damage that have an impact on flowering.

Macadamia however, was initially introduced into Samoa in the early 1900’s by the Germans, and re-introduced by the Department of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries (DAFF) in the 1970’s. For reasons beyond the scope of this proposal, this nut tree had not really taken root in the country. Last year however, the macadamia passion and vision was re-borne and new efforts were initiated to revive another industry for Samoa. Seeds were imported from Australia, and healthy seedlings are now growing at a nursery in Maagiagi, ready for the next strategy of the plan. The macadamia seedlings survived Evans as they were securely housed at the Post Entry Quarantine premises at Nuu Crop Research Centre at the time. An order from Australia of more seeds for mass multiplication and budwoods for grafting are already in the pipeline.

For the last 15 months, the dragon fruit trees produced around 100 lovely fruits. These were distributed locally and the response from Samoans who tasted them was fantastic. The longan trees were expected to flower and produce fruits this year but due to cyclone Evans this is delayed by 1 to 2 years. As proven in Asian countries with similar climate, both fruits are ideal for commercial development and have huge potential for utilization in the domestic, hospitality and tourism industries. Export of these commodities is a realistic prospect once a reliable, sustainable and quality core supply is guaranteed.

Work has now begun to rehabilitate and rejuvenate both fruit trees. At the moment, “cuttings” (e.g. of vegetative or asexual propagation) of dragon fruit have now been nursed in 6½ PB size planting bags, as a first step for mass multiplication of planting materials. To have a consistent supply of ‘true-to-type’ planting stock of dragon fruit, a “gene pool” (also known as “gene bank”) will be established to source ‘cuttings’ for continuous planting material multiplication.

For the longans, which have now produced a lot of new shoots from the tree stumps left by Evans, “air-layers” (another e.g. of vegetative propagation) will be done on the new growths, again for mass multiplication of stock material. A “gene bank” will be set up for this tree fruit for the same purpose as for the dragon fruit. To get premium quality ‘green’ fruits, either for fresh consumption or for export, it is vital to churn out “true-to-type” stock material for planting. For this to materialize, employing ‘vegetative (asexual) propagation’ methods (e.g. cuttings, air-layer, budding, grafting, etc.) must be adopted.

Once the planting material is ready (approximately 3-4 months for both the dragon fruit tree and longan fruit tree) planting material would be available for interested farmers and other stakeholders.

In order to develop this opportunity, funding is sought for a water tank for irrigation, a simple shade house structure mostly utilizing local materials [e.g. hardwoods (poumuli, tava, teak) and bamboo], “planting” materials, tools, weedicides and fertilizers.

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6. Project Justification Applicants need to present a Business Case – no matter how simple that case might be.(a) Who/what is the target market for the initiative?The target market can be divided into three main groups:

1. The farmers and other stakeholders to sell the tree stock for transplanting to. This ensures an early return of the investment and supports the financial sustainability.

2. The domestic market including hospitality and tourism as well as the general population. This will be a stepping stone for a reliable and quality fruit production as well as an added nutritional option especially for children.

3. The export markets of New Zealand and Australia.

(b) The commercial potential and benefits to the Group/Sector’s overall objective. Outline proposed activities and how these will address the specific problem or opportunity.

The overall objective is to establish new fruit and nut trees in Samoa that are an addition to the few varieties available and thus add to a healthy staple diet, introduce interesting flavours to the hospitality and tourism industry and provide an additional income to many farmers and growers. These selected plants are known as clones or cultivars (or varieties). These clones are produced by “asexual propagation” (e.g. grafting, budding, air-layer, cuttings, etc.), NOT by sexual reproduction (seeds/seedlings). Therefore, the major activities of the project are establishing “gene banks” and using asexual propagation techniques of air-layer and cuttings to produce ‘true-to-type’ fruit tree planting materials in a controlled environment.This is essential to guarantee a consistent quality of fruit which is essential to satisfy the local and export market.

(c) The ‘Value Chain’ feature: what is there a special feature or innovation about the proposal that sets it apart, and presumably better, than existing practices?

The main feature of this project is the establishment of a gene bank to guarantee the quality of trees grown. This ensures only trees that are true-to-type are planted.Currently there seems to be no gene bank in a controlled environment that can offer these fruit tree varieties in Samoa. A coordinated effort to distribute these varieties is essential to guarantee quality outputs to the requirements of local and export markets. This project will fill this gap. The diagram below shows the overall role of the gene bank in the value chain as the foundation to a successful product.

Input-Producer-Buyer linkages in the Value Chain

(d) Sustainability: what will ensure that the project is viable once funding from the PSSF ceases?

PSSF funding is the start-up capital to assist to establish the main project activities and core business operations. These crops are convenient additions to family agro-forestry farming systems, a very popular way of farming in the traditional Samoan setting. Once the key operations are in place, the project will be able to sustain itself by

1. selling planting stock to farmers and 2. selling fruit produce to the consumer

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Financial and information flows

Physical flows

Institutional environment (laws, regulations, etc)

Inputs(gene bank produced

ProductionBuyer

Processor Distribution Consumption

Supporting/Facilitating Services like MAF, Samoa Farmers Association etc

(e) Risks: what are the risks of the proposed initiative not being successful – if this application for funding is successful?

Natural disasters like cyclones are a risk. This can be mitigated with forward planning and ‘smart’ farm management approaches like planting windbreaks, keeping the trees and structures low and immediate ‘sanitary pruning’ or ‘top working’ of plants after the cyclone.

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7. Ability to Deliver (a) Describe the skills, specialist or otherwise, and the experience available to complete the project.

The farmer, (also the leader and manager of this project), graduated with a degree in Agricultural Science from the University of the South Pacific in 1993. His working career includes more than 20 years with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) specializing in the FAO/UNDP/MAF Fruit Tree Development Project of the 1980’s/90’s for more then 7 years. The farmer is currently farming himself and has been doing this for many years. On the farm in Magiagi we have been growing fruit trees successfully for over 10 years.

(b) Is the project expected to require an Environmental Impact Assessment, and if so, what action for this is proposed?

No.

(c) Does the project require use of or access to Customary Land – and if so, how is this requirement to be met?

Yes, the farmer has been living on the land for 15 years now and the father in law has granted the authority verbally for the utilization of the parcel of land for this project. The land belongs to my wife’s father’s ancestors.

8. Benefits to the Economy (a) The SDS connection and sector strategies: what is the overall contribution to the strategic development of

the country?This dragon fruit and longan project provides a promising and lucrative investment for local farmers to further agriculture development in terms of crop diversification. This will also improve food security, add to the family income, reduce unemployment and eventually increase contribution to export and GDP. The provision of “true-to-type” planting material for growers and the general public is a specific objective and goal of this project. This is very important not only for increase production and sustaining crop productivity but much more from a market and marketing perspective and thus to the overall economy of Samoa.This project in directly linked to the SDS in the following ways:

Key outcome 2: Re-invigorate Agriculture, provision of planting material, increase GDP, reduced imports of agricultural products in particular fruits, improved local supply, increased investment in agriculture

Key outcome 3: Revitalized Exports, support and promote niche export and high value added products Key outcome 4: Sustainable tourism, ensure quality product and service delivery, strengthen linkages

between tourism and other sectors of the economy Key outcome 5: Enabling Environment for Business Development, promote small business

development, focused support of rural businesses Key outcome 13: Environmental Sustainability, promote the use of good land use management

practice, increase of land area covered by forest

(b) The ‘loop-back’ connection: how will people at the first level of the economy benefit from this proposal?

Farmers will have a high-quality supply of ‘true-to-type’ planting materials, a prerequisite for improve crop production and sustainable crop productivity. The two new fruits offer another viable option for village based farmers to create employment and earn added income for both the family and community.Increased fruit consumption in the family, school or at work will greatly improve nutrition and health especially for the disadvantaged members like children, elderly and those with special needs.Another lucrative export crop for foreign exchange earnings that will help generate income and so benefit the community at all levels including the most vulnerable.

9. Previous Work – describe previously completed work relevant to this proposalPrevious experience growing fruit trees includes fruit planting rambutan, many kinds of citrus (sweet oranges, limes & lemons, grapefruit and pomelo), mango, starfruit, mangosteen, apiu, pineapple, avocado, coconut and now dragon fruit, longan and macadamia. Invaluable experience was also gained working for over 7 years in the FAO/UNDP/MAF Fruit Tree Development Project of the 1980’s/90’s.

10. Milestones – Please complete the Description, Due Dates & Estimated Cost Columns Please list the major activities and outcomes of the project)

NOTE: Projects greater than SAT$20,000 and for larger multi-year funding may require a Supplementary Budget attachment for greater budget detail information. Milestones below are to match the information in the Supplementary Budget

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No Description [Milestones are the stages, with dates, by which you will carry out your proposal]

Due Date(month/year)

Estimated Cost ($000)PSSF Total

1 Secure & prepare ‘poumuli’, ‘tava’ and teak hardwood trees for support posts for dragon fruit – 25 poumuli/tava/teak x $100. This activity has begun.

May/June2013

2500 2500

2 Start nurturing dragon fruit ‘cuttings’ in plastic bags – 200 cuttings x $15. This activity has also started.

May/June2013

3000 3000

3 Prepare poumuli, tava, teak posts and bamboo stems and erect shade house basic structure. This work has also been initiated.

June/July 2013

1500 1500

4 Procure and piece together other shade house components – shade cloth net, clear plastic, line wire, ready mixed concrete.

July 2013 3,355 3,355

5 Procure other materials – tools (wheelbarrow, spade, shovel and rake), knapsack sprayer, weedicides, planting bags and fertilizers/manures.

July 2013 1,751.8 1,751.8

6 Secure and source planting media – soil, river sand (or other coarse materials).

June/July 2013

370 370

7 Procure and install water tank and fittings. August 2013

2500 2500

8 Mechanical services – repair chainsaw, purchase blade and chain.

June 2013 350 350

9 Air-layers of longan tree – 100 AL @$20 August 2013

2000 2000

10 Total 17,326.80

X FINAL REPORT

11. Project Funding – All figures to be inclusive of GST

Project Costing (SAT$)

EXPENDITURE [ The main part or tasks (things) on which the funding will be spent]Item 1: ‘Poumuli’, ‘tava’ and teak hardwood trees to make support posts for the dragon fruit

2,500.00

Item 2: Dragon fruit ‘cuttings’ for planting material. 3,000.00

Item 3: Samoan timber/wood (poumuli, tava, teak and bamboo) for shade house basic structure.

1,500.00

Item 4: Procure and piece together other shade house components – shade cloth net, clear plastic, line wire, ready mixed concrete.

3,355.00

Item 5: Other materials – tools (wheelbarrow, spade, shovel, rake), knapsack sprayer, weedicides, planting bags and fertilizers/manure

1,751.80

Item 6: Soil media – soil, river sand (or other coarse materials). 370.00

Item 7: Water tank and fittings. 2,500.00

Item 8: Mechanical services – repair chainsaw, purchase blade and chain. 350.00

Item 9: Air-layers of longan tree. 2,000.00

Item 10: Labour and technical expertise (and other inputs e.g. macadamia seedlings, etc.) - In kind.

1,732.68

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Total Project Cost ST$19,059.48

Where Project Funds Will Come From

SOURCE OF FUNDSN.B. Category ‘A’ Applications for larger multi-year funding may require supplementary budget blank for greater budget detail information.Contributions for FINANCIAL years (01 July – 30 June)

Year One Year One Year Two Year Three Total(a) Cash Contributions

Multi Year funding applies to Category ‘A’ Applic. only

PSSFs Requested (this fund)Other sources of Govt funds (name): Other Funders (names):Source 1:Source 2:Source 3:(a) Total Cash (incl. GST)

(b) In-Kind ContributionsContributor 1:Contributor 2:Contributor 3:(b) Total In-Kind (incl. GST)Overall Total Contributions (incl. GST)

STATUS OF CASH CONTRIBUTIONS

SOURCE Confirmed Yes/No

PendingYes/No

In discussionYes/No

DiscussedYes/No

Other Govt Funds:Source 1:Source 2:Source 3:

12. Declaration

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(Insert the name of the person making the declaration on behalf of the Group and his or her position within the Group.)

I, …………………………… being the ……………………………… of the Group

hereby:

I declare that I am authorised by the Group to make this declaration on its behalf.

I confirm that:

1. The information contained in this Grant Application to the PSSF is accurate and accept that if any information given, or representation made to the Steering Group in this request, or subsequent correspondence, or made during the course of the Project (if it proceeds) is found to be misleading or inaccurate in any material respect; then the Steering Group may at its discretion withdraw the grant so that no further payments are made.

2. The project is believed to be eligible for a PSSF grant and separate accounts will be kept for the project funding received.

3. I agree that the Secretariat, Sector Advisory Panels and the deciding Steering Group, nominated consultants and suppliers all being persons without a direct conflict of interest in the applicant’s proposal, may at their discretion carry out reference checks in relation to any previous work that has been undertaken with Development Partners and / or other donors assistance and that all references and reports obtained by them will be confidential to them.

4. If a grant is given, a contract will be entered between the Applicant/Grantee and the Crown;

5. Summary information about the application and any resulting grant (including applicant name, project title, and a précis of the proposal, its progress and results) may be made publicly available through the PSSF; and

6. The signatory has the authority to commit the Applicant / Grantee to this application / contract.

7. Furthermore, but submitting this application, the Applicant Group acknowledges that the assessment of projects will be a subjective and relative process, and that the Steering Group has final decision-making authority in this process.

Signature _______________________________________________

Dated this ________________ day of__________________ Year _____________

Where appropriate, Applicant/Group Seal

Date when application was receivedName of Receiving OfficerSignature of Receiving OfficerComments

PSSF Secretariat:Industry Development & Investment Promotion Division (IDIP)

For PSSF Secretariat Use Only

DRAGON FRUIT &

TREE

LONGAN FRUIT &

TREEMagiagi dragon fruit

Magiagi dragon fruitNote: Except for the pictures indicated, the rest were from the internet.MACADAMIA SEEDLINGS AND NUTSMacadamia seedlings at Magiagi

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