South Pacific Agricultural News Span...South Pacific Agricultural News Oct-Nov-Dec 2016 2 In addition, there has been an in-crease in the total number of graduates, from 111 last year

SPAN Vol. 41, No. 10 October-November-December 2016 ISSN 1015 - 950

Span

South Pacific Agricultural News—Institute for Research, Extension & Training in Agriculture

IRETA

Student Research Project & NUS students work

experience at USP ...pg 16

AG221 Field Trip ... pg 17

Editor in Chief : Mohammed Umar Publications Officer : Dolly Autufuga Email : [email protected]

Agriculture Show ...pg 19

IMAGES ... pg 22

USP Alafua Campus Graduation

BUILD Samoa visits USP Alafua

& Pineapple training .. Pg 18

Staff Profile... Pg 21

News Bits ... Pg 20

Christmas Messages ... Pg 7-13

O ne hundred and thirty-five students received certificates, diplomas and degrees during USP’s

Alafua Campus graduation ceremony in Samoa on 25 Nov 2016.

Special guests, graduates, church leaders, families and friends crowded the Mulinuu EFKS Hall to

witness another end of the year success of Agriculture students from Samoa.

This year’s graduation had the presence of the USP Chancellor and the Prime Minister of Cook Islands, Hon-ourable Henry Puna and Mrs Akaiti Puna; the Prime Minister of Samoa, Honourable Tuilaepa Sailele Maliele-gaoi; the Vice Chancellor and President of USP, Professor Rajesh Chandra; the Pro Chancellor and Chair of the USP Council, Mr. Winston Thompson and Mrs Queenie Thompson; the Minister of Education of Samoa,

Honourable Loau Solamalemalo Keneti Sio; Government Ministers, Honorable members of Parliament, members of the Diplomatic Corps, members of the Judiciary, members of the Clergy and other representatives of the educa-

tional institutions.

Delivering the keynote address, the Vice Chancellor and President of USP, Professor Rajesh Chandra, noted that 50% of the graduates were females and 19% of graduates received Postgraduate qualifications. Eleven students gradu-ated with Master’s degree in Agriculture. Students who graduated were from thirteen countries including non-regional countries of Australia, Belize, Ja-maica, Nigeria and Papua New Guinea. continued page 2...

USP Alafua Graduation ..Pg 2

Prof. Tulin’s farewell ... Pg 14

USP Samoa Second

Alumni Event... Pg 3

PM of Cook Islands & USP

Pro Chancellor visit and Soil

Manual.. Pg 4

Training in Taveuni... Pg 6

VC & Head of School Meetings ..Pg 5

Student Research Project & Student Association

Farewell ... pg 15

2 South Pacific Agricultural News Oct-Nov-Dec 2016

In addition, there has been an in-crease in the total number of graduates, from 111 last year to 135 this year. Further, 51 students graduated with Bachelor of Science degree through the Science Teach-ers Accelerated Program (STAP), a collaboration between the Govern-

ment of Samoa and the USP. The Vice Chancellor and Presi-dent congratulated all the graduates for their achievements

and wished them success in life and work.

Professor Chandra also spoke about the increasing collabora-tion of USP with other institutions, progress of the School of Agriculture and Food Technology (SAFT) and the Institute of Research, Extension and Training in Agriculture (IRETA) Farm. He also mentioned a number of improvements made to the Alafua Campus this year and highlighted future im-

provements in the pipeline.

Certificates, diplomas and degrees were conferred by Prime Minister of Cook Islands and Chancellor of USP, Hon. Henry Puna. Beautiful songs were sung by choir coordinated by Ms

Tima Leavai.

Ms Selina Siliana’au Oikali won the Top Student Award in

Animal Husbandry in Agriculture.

Families, friends and loved ones also congratulated the graduates for their hard work and efforts.

USP Alafua Campus Graduation


Professor Rajesh Chandra, the Vice Chancellor and President of the USP, welcomed eve-

ryone to the second Alumni event hosted by the University at its Alafua Campus Fale on 23 Nov 2016. The first Alumni gathering was in 2011 and occasions such as this give the oppor-tunity for old friends to reunite and reconnect, reminisce about the past and rekindle rela-

tionships with each other and the University.

According to Professor Chandra, USP had over 46,000 alumni and by its 50th Anniversary, it will be well in access of 50,000. He noted that Samoa has produced many prominent alumni in academia, government and other areas and a number of USP alumni can be found work-ing for Ministries, Educational Institutions as well as Government and Non-government or-

ganizations and beyond.

Professor Chandra congratulated all alumni that were present at the event on their achievements and commitments and looked forward to celebrating USP’s 50th Anniversary in 2018. He added that USP is committed to producing quality graduates with outstanding leadership abilities, sense of purpose, intellectual capacity and a commitment to the devel-

opment of the region.

Alumni speaker, Reverend Denny Epati, talked about his time while studying at USP. He mentioned that everything he learned at USP was very useful for his everyday life. He made

great friends at USP and he mentioned that his life had been blessed ever since joining USP.

Member of Parliament for Alataua West, Afioga Aliimalemanu Alofa Tuuau, another alumni speaker, also talked about her moments at USP, and stated that it was proud to be called a USP graduate. She has worked hard to get to where she is at present and she encouraged all

graduates to always aim higher.

The Campus Director, Ruby Va’a, thanked the large number of alumni who turned out to support the event, especially the graduates from the 70s and 80s era who also joined the cele-

brations.

Vote of thanks was delivered by Associate Professor Mohammed Umar, Head of School (SAFT). Mr. Umar mentioned that he was not a graduate of USP because USP wasn’t established at the time he was studying but he has worked for USP for a number of years. He thanked the alumni for coming and reminded them that a great university is only great because of its students; and

that the USP students are a fine example of that.

The event was attended by prominent Samoan Alumni including the Honorable Members of Parliament, Chief Executive Officers of private and public enterprises, Heads of educational institu-tions, community leaders and members of the Samoan Judici-ary.

USP SAMOA Second Alumni Event

2016

South Pacific Agricultural News Oct-Nov-Dec 2016 4

Cook Island Prime Minister and USP

Pro Chancellor’s visit

T he Prime Minister of Cook Islands, Honorable Henry Tuakeu Puna, and Pro Chancel-lor and Chair of USP Council, Mr. Winston Thompson had the opportunity to visit

the School of Agriculture and Food Technology and the IRETA Farm at the USP Alafua

campus.

The guests were first welcomed by the Head of School, Associ-ate Professor Mohammed Umar, and Campus Director, Lea-

tuaolevao Ruby Vaa.

The Head of School took them for a tour to the Soil and Tissue Culture Laboratories. Accompanying them was IT Manager, Fi-nance Manager and other IRETA staff. Senior Technician, Mr. Daya Perera showed guests the machines and equipment that were currently available and used for student projects and lectures. The guests were then taken to the IRETA Farm. They had a look at the cage and deep litter systems used at the farm and some of the activities such as egg grading, packaging

and labeling.

The guests and Head of School as well as staff members that participated in the tour exchanged thanks before parting ways.

Soil Conservation and Land Management

Manual

T he Soil Conservation and Land Manage-ment Manual for Samoa through the

“Strengthening Multi-Sectoral Management of Critical Landscape in Samoa Project” with MNRE and USP as consultants, has been finalized and published. The manual was compiled by Associate Professor Mo-hammed Umar and Prof. Anabella Tulin which consists of soil tests, interviews and project site visit to Savaii, Upolu, Manono tai and Apolima tai.


Head of SAFT meeting with Ambassador

of Israel

Dr. Itzhak Gerberg, Ambassador of Israel, met with Associate Professor Mohammed Umar Head of School and Director of IRETA on 2nd Nov 2016. The Ambassador is based in Welling-ton, New Zealand. The meeting discussed available research opportunities and training in the fields of agriculture in Is-rael, as well as the possibility of inviting experts from Israel as short-term trainers or extension officers in a non-formal,

non-academic or practical technical teaching.

There were two possible ways that USP students could travel to Israel for education or training. The students se-lected must have good academic rating and meet application deadlines. The Ambassador mentioned that the Government of Israel can pay for accom-modation, tuition and other costs, excluding air-fare, which may be paid by the student, their Gov-ernment or the USP.

VC’s meeting with staff and

students of USP Alafua

O n 23 Nov, the Vice Chancellor and President of the USP, Professor Rajesh

Chandra met with the staff and students of Alafua Campus.

The meeting with the staff allowed staff mem-bers to discuss issues they were facing at USP with re-gards to operations at Alafua. The meeting also dis-cussed ways and ideas of making things better in Alafua and how staff members were making the campus more viable. It was also a chance for staff to ask questions and seek better understand about USP policies and

regulations.

The students also had the chance to voice out their opinions on things that they felt needed to be improved and other matters regarding their courses, accommodations on campus and USP services.

6

T he Provincial Council Bure on Fiji's Garden Island in Tave-uni provided a beautiful venue for the Taro Training

Workshop 28th November - 2nd December 2016. A stimulating welcome address given by Ratu Waisale Mataitoga set the tone for the five day course run for local taro farmers and Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries staff and other stake-holders. Ratu Mataitoga asked the participants to be good stewards of the land and to leave it in good condition for fu-ture generations rather than simply 'lining pockets and leav-ing'. He also reminded them that just as the tagimoucia is the pride of Taveuni so are its farmers. University of the South Pacific staff Prof. Mohammed Umar, Prof. Anbella Tulin and Prof. Satish Chandra with Dr Sanjay Anand presented a wide variety of topics with particular ref-erence to Taveuni, highlighting problems, constraints and op-portunities within the taro industry. Farmers were encouraged to bring in soil samples for analysis and robust discussion was encouraged as to how they might improve pro-ductivity and deal with the major problems of lack of planting materials following cy-clone Winston, declining soil health and other production related issues. Apart from discussions on crop production and taro exports, the farmers were provided an opportunity to discuss among themselves as to how they can work and support each other as a growers group so that they could have a voice together to seek assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture and others to develop their farms and improve their taro crop production and export. The farmers agreed to form a group and were encour-aged by the District Officer Taveuni Kauvati Rabuka and the Roko Tui Taveuni Emori To-kalau to work together and seek assistance for their farming problems. Associate Professor Mohammed Umar advised the farmers that they really need to look at the land they are growing their crops. He emphasized that Taveuni is a volcanic island which is largely steep except for the southern

end which has already been ex-tensively cropped over the years. The land use in Taveuni needs to be managed carefully to protect the natural forest and pro-tect soil erosion. At the end of the training 32 growers were awarded certificates for their par-ticipation in the training.

Training workshop on improving taro

production and export from Taveuni

South Pacific Agricultural News Oct-Nov-Dec 2016

7

Season’s Greetings to you all,

As we draw nearer to the end of 2016, it is apparent that our yearlong endeavours have once again lead to another wonder-fully successful year for SAFT and IRETA. And during this holiday season our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have

made our progress possible.

……Thank u people……

Here at the University of the South Pacific Alafua Campus, we must always remember that excellence is what fuels this school and providing the best of services to inquisitive indi-viduals from around the Pacific region is our priority. So take this time to enjoy our successes and reflect on our defeats, as both present us with lessons to learn and grow by to-gether. May this festive season fill you all with bright and

precious moments and bring you lots of pleasant surprises.

In this spirit I sincerely say thank you and best wishes for the

holiday season and a prosperous 2017.

Warmest Regards,

Mohammed Umar


HOS SAFT & Director of IRETA,

Assoc. Prof Mohammed Umar

8

Christmas is a season of joy and merriment for peo-

ple of all ages and origin. But more than the tinsels,

the lights and the bounty, it is the time for sharing

the love of God and that of our hearts so that we can

all live in peace and harmony. It is also the perfect

time for reflection on what we have contributed in-

dividually to make our community - and conse-

quently the world - a better place today and beyond.

Our stay here at the University of

the South Pacific has been both

wonderful and memorable. And so

from our home to yours, in behalf

of the Visayas State University, and

from the people of the Philippines

to the people of Samoa, we wish

you all a Merry Christmas and a

Prosperous New Year!

Prof. Manuel K. Palomar/ Prof. Lutgarda S. Palomar


Emeritus Professor, Manuel K.

Palomar & wife Professor of Food

Sciences, Lutgarda S. Palomar

9

Dear staff and students; Our team is so blessed having to work with you all this year. We had a lot of challenges with work this year but with your support, cooperation and dedica-tion, we have achieved success in all endeavours. To our students, our campus is fortu-nate to have dedicated students like you and would like to thank you for your patience, hard work and sincere dedica-tion. May this Christmas season bring tons of success, joy and peace to you and your family. To our staff we are blessed to have a colleague like you, thank you for the pleasant cooperation and dedicated service. Wish-ing you all a very happy and safe Christmas and holidays. On behalf of our IT Management, we thank you all for serving USP and wishing you all a safe and blessed holidays. God bless. Information and Technology Services Team Alafua Campus


IT Manager, Sia Matalavea

10

Dear Students and Staff, It’s that time of year again when the Christmas spirit is in the air. Inevitably, within all this sea-sonal joy there follows the chance to pause and reflect on the year past and the year ahead. For me, it has been a fantastic three months that I spent with you the previous year at USP. Being part of the university, it was a great opportunity for me to contribute to teaching and research ac-tivities of Alafua campus. I am happy that during this period we established research collaboration in many interesting areas related to food quality and nutrition. Our results achieved with Samoan underutilized crops and medicinal plants promises exciting opportunities to continue on our current work in the future. We will also be building on the success of staff exchange between European and Samoan universities and research institutes. These are just some of the exciting things you can hope to see in the close future. Finally I would like to wish all students and col-leagues at ALAFUA a fantastic Christmas, relax and a happy new year and lots of energy for the next year to come. Sincerely, Ladislav


Adjunct Prof Czech University of

Life Sciences, Ladislav Kokoska

11

Christmas is a special time to remember those closer to our heart. I wish you God's wonderful gifts of faith, hope, peace, and love at this Christmas-time and into the New Year. Dr. Siaka Diarra Senior lecturer of SAFT


‘Wishing all our dear staff peace and love this Christ-mas festive season, and may our dreams for 2017 be fulfilled. God Bless all our families. Merry Xmas and a Happy New year. Josie Fuimaono President of I&J staff (Alafua)

12

Talofa Lava USP Family

We are nearing the end of yet another terrific

and exciting year, a year which has seen so

many success stories emerging from a number

of disciplines, faculties and campuses all over

the region. Hearty congratulations to every

member of our USP family, for your sincere

dedication, commitment and loyalty are

greatly appreciated by our University.

I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas

(a sober one) and a Super Prosperous and

Magical 2017.

Christmas is found within the hearts, and not

under the Christmas trees

Cheers

STAP Family Dr. Bibhya Sharma


13

Merry Christmas and a Happy new to all,

It is that time of the year when we say thank you to all and celebrate our achievements for 2016. I am delighted to convey my sincere appre-ciation to all our staff in the School of Economics and School of Agricul-ture and Food Technology, who helped us conduct flexi-school courses in Alafua. This year, we managed to send three of our staff from Laucala to help Alafua students complete their courses in Undergraduate and Post graduate programs in Agriculture. At Economics, we remain keen to promote inter-school collaboration in teaching and research, achieve excellence and strongly commit to achieving the University’s Strategic Plan 2013-2018. May this festive season fill you all with moments of happiness and joy. I wish all the very best for the joyous festive season and rewarding 2017.

Warmest Regards,

Dr Rup Singh School of Economics



T he farewell note was given by the Head of School, Associate Professor Mohammed Umar. Mr. Umar thanked Professor Tulin for all the

good work she had done for the School of Agriculture especially her invaluable support to the students. She has been actively involved with school functions and in

different projects.

Professor Tulin, who was returning back to her home in the Philippines, had completed her contract with the school. According to Prof. Tulin, Samoa has become her second home and she will surely miss working at USP, teaching her students and spending time with her USP friends. She thanked all staff for making her stay com-fortable and everything that each one has done for her. She left the USP with a book publication, jointly with the Head of School, on Soil Conservation and Land Man-agement for Samoa – “Strengthening Multi-Sectoral Man-agement of Critical Landscape in Samoa” (SMSMCL Pro-

ject) with MNRE and UNDP.

A gift was presented to Prof. Tulin as a token of appre-

ciation and as an acknowledgement for all the good

things that she did for the school and the University.

Farewell for Prof. Anabella

Tulin


F lower gardening which emerged in Samoa in 1990’s, has become a fast growing business venture. Its business potential has been quickly recognized and em-braced especially by women. Plants and flowers have not only opened a door for

women to step into the commercial world of business but have also added to the over-all changes in the domestic landscape of the island. These changes due to increasing international and domestic movement, have contributed to the exchange of goods and ideas. The research project by AG383 students Etuate Vuiyasawa, Tima Leavai, Pita Matulino and Kinijoji Bakoso, supervised by Dr. Jagdish Bhati, aimed to study the Samoan flori-culture business and its potential by understanding the socio-economic characteristics of the floriculture entrepreneurs and their linkage with business performance. The pro-ject examined the current status of the floriculture business in Samoa, analyzed the costs and returns of flower production and examined costs and the profit and loss mar-gins involved in flower marketing. The study concluded there was a strong correlation between certain socio economic attributes of the producers and marketers that influenced profits and losses in Samoan floriculture. Economic analysis revealed that the flower business is viable and also as-sists the overall income for the producers and marketers of other businesses.

However, the researchers recommended that there must be more market research

analysis conducted on other aspects of floriculture in Samoa to encourage farmers and

marketers to improve production, quality, supply and market demand, improve social

and economic uses and minimize production costs.

A study of Floriculture Business

in Samoa

H alloween was the theme for the end of year Farewell Party for all on and off campus stu-dents. This was the last activity and the last

gathering, to say goodbye to final year students and to celebrate the end of studies. The party was crowded with students from different islands of the Pacific, coming together to enjoy and to celebrate as they reach the end of the road for this year. Everyone dressed up in different Halloween costumes. Prizes were organized by the Student Asso-ciation Committee for ‘Best Halloween Costume’ and ‘Best Dancer’. Students said their goodbyes after en-joying a night of fun.

Student Association Farewell Party


V anuatu’s economy is mostly based upon Agriculture with the core exports being copra, coconut oil, kava, timber, beef and cocoa. The production of beef, pork and poultry for local consumption forms an essential part of the

economy. AG383 students Graham Miller Kalkot and Robert Sao under the supervision of Dr. Jagdish Bhati analyzed the trends in specific livestock (beef, pork and poultry) pro-duction and export in Vanuatu by studying the growth in production and export of selected livestock products and the contribution of those livestock products to Vanuatu’s economy during 1990-2013. The factors affecting the growth and fluc-tuations in production and export of livestock products in Vanuatu were demon-strated. The study concluded that Vanuatu has not been able to export poultry and pig meat and barely met the livestock product domestic requirements. The production of beef, pork and sheep/goat for local consumption forms an es-sential part of the economy. However, beef was the only live-stock product produced in sufficient quantities to supply both the domestic and export market. Vanuatu produces the best quality beef in the Pacific and as a result there has been huge growth in this sector.

Trends of production and export of live-

stock products in Vanuatu: 1990-2013

S ix NUS students under the IOT and Tourism programs came to USP to observe and

gain work experience as part of their course requirements. The stu-dents spent 4 weeks on practical work experience at USP Alafua campus and rotated to different sections as required. Two students had the opportunity to observe un-der supervision by SAFT and IRETA staff. The students enhanced their knowledge and skills in Microsoft Office, learned about writing proper reports and created templates for use in the School of Agri-culture Newsletter and Journal. One of the students also had the opportunity to learn about farm stock taking, efficient egg production and data collection.

NUS students work experience at USP


Prof. Anabella Tulin with AG221 students went on a field trip on the 22nd of October 2016. The main purpose of the visit was for students to observe and learn more on soil conservation and management, different soil and agricultural practices taken place in the areas visited.

Ah Liki Crop Farm at Tanumapua was the first place the students visited. The students had the opportunity to observe different kinds of vegetables and methods of planting. Huge plots of taro, papaya, eggplant, pineapple, head cabbage and other vegetables were seen. The highlight of the visit to Ah Liki Farm was the pineapple tasting. All the students took a piece and tasted the sweetness of the Samoan pineapple variety. The students then went to Amy’s Nursery. Amy is a business woman who owns Salote Florist at Apia Samoa. A successful business woman who mentioned that working in her garden was first a hobby and then it turned into a business when her garden grew big-ger. Amy’s Nursery has almost all kinds of different fragrant flowers. The students were amazed to see so many flowers they have not seen before. Amy mentioned that one of the problems that she was dealing with was the soil. Her nursery is organic and she provides some shade and water for her flowers to look healthy. From Amy’s Nursery, the students visited Malaefono’s Organic Farm. The students observed the use of coconut husk as mulch and a lot of fruit trees and ornamentals in the area. Tausala Cook, the daughter of the owner toured the students around the farm and explained some of the activities that they do at the farm. The field trip ended at Matareva Beach for lunch before returning back to the campus.

AG221 Field Trip


Boys United in Leadership Development (BUILD) is a Peace Corps initiative, based on programs provided by volunteers in other countries that aims to provide young men with the skills they need to be effective leaders. The conference was held at St. Joseph’s College in

Alafua with visits to the School of Agriculture and Food Technology (SAFT) at USP and the IRETA Farm. Year 7 and Year 8 students from various Primary Schools in Samoa together with Peace Corps Samoa volunteers and adult community representatives came to USP for this visit. The young students first listened to a short briefing on the campus and the School of Agriculture and then they toured the soil lab and the IRETA Farm. Most of them were very excited to see the animals at the farm and were curious enough to ask questions. The main goal of the conference, including the different visits such as coming to USP Alafua, was to encourage the young men to lead through positive example and to share the knowledge and experience gained at BUILD with their school, village and faith com-munities.

Boys United in Leadership Development

(BUILD) Samoa visits USP Alafua

Pineapple training at Ah Liki Poultry

Farm

T wo SAFT members and USP Professors Anabella Tulin and Manuel Palomar, facili-tated a training course on pineapple at the Ah Liki

Poultry Farm on the 3rd of October 2016. The course incorporated learning about pineapple pests and diseases, identifying nutrient deficiency in the planting materials and the soil, understanding and scheduling when to plant pineapple based on the market demand, when to plant the suckers, the required spacing and correct fertil-izer application. The participants of the training included members from the Samoa Farmer’s Association (SFA), Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), Ah Liki Farm staff and most impor-tantly, the local farmers. The training course encouraged the farmers to ask questions and to discuss any problems they encountered with their pineapple plantations.


Agriculture Show 2016

T he Agriculture Show of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) was held on Thursday 13th and Friday 14th October 2016 at Sogi. Farmers from all over Samoa displayed their root crops, fruit trees, vegetables, spices,

ornamental plants, sheep, cattle, goats, ducks, chicken, pigs and turkeys as well as produce of different kinds. Officers of MAF judged and awarded those with the best products. Highlights of the Agriculture Show included a display of the first shipment of breadfruit and yam to Australia. Following the success of the recent frozen taro trial, breadfruit and yam from the farmers at the show will be frozen and shipped to Australia the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries reported. Another highlight was the Ma’afala breadfruit tree. A contract will be signed with the University of Hawaii to process breadfruit into flour and export it, said Minis-ter La’auli. He also added that they have confirmed a gluten free market in America and that our breadfruit is said to make the best flour in the world. Further good news from the Ministry was a report that a new variety of banana named Williams and Asdia, had been ordered from Israel to combat the bunchy top virus so common in Samoa. 10,000 banana suckers will be distributed for planting. Another Agriculture Show highlight was an announcement that Samoa now has its very own new sheep, a New Zealand and Australian cross breed.

20

G lobal Fertilizer Day launched for the first time on 13 Oct 2016, in London, brought together international agriculture professionals to celebrate fertil-izers and their essential role in sustaining the growing population.

Fertilizers have helped revolutionize the agricultural sector. Delivering nitrogen, phosphorus and potash, the vitamins of life for plants and are vital for improving farmer’s yields. The widespread use of fertilizers has made more food globally ac-cessible and available than ever before, yet global food security remains a top in-ternational concern. With the global population estimated to increase to 9.7 billion by 2060 (UN.org, 2015), education and innovation in agriculture and farming tech-niques are crucial for the future of nutrition. “Fertilizers are very interesting. A few billion people would have to die if we had-n’t have come up with fertilizer” – Bill Gates on CBS Tonight, 2013. The Global Fertilizer Day cause is fundamental to the future of the world’s food supply. The day gave international agricultural professionals the opportunity to creatively discuss global food security and the sustainability for the future. The purpose of the day was to spread knowledge and awareness about one of farming’s most important ingredients and to highlight the need for continued agricultural re-search, innovation in agriculture, with the end goal of worldwide food sustainabil-ity at the core of the awareness campaign. Agricultural professionals were encouraged to organize their own events to dissemi-nate knowledge about Global Fertilizer Day to bring people together to discuss the future of food supply to a hungry world. (https://www.worldfertilizer.com/special-reports/11102016/global-fertilizer-day-ready-to-launch/)

Global Fertilizer Day


https://www.worldfertilizer.com/special-reports/11102016/global-fertilizer-day-ready-to-launch/

https://www.worldfertilizer.com/special-reports/11102016/global-fertilizer-day-ready-to-launch/


Name: Alfram Roy Nukuro

Status: Full time staff

Staff post: Computer Technician

Future career: Computer Specialist

Background:

Alfram Roy Nukuro started working at USP Alafua campus on January 11th 2016. He was working for the Scientific Research Organization of Samoa as a Research Sci-entist for Plant and Food Technology and Senior Scientist for Environmental and Re-newable Energy Division before coming to USP. He is married and blessed with 2 chil-dren – Malcom and Ramona. He plans to specialize in networking and working to-wards Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA and Linux international certificates. His message to everyone is that “Everything is meaning-less or chasing after the wind if you don’t enjoy life and fear God. It is better to put trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man and walk with the Lord in all your plans/goals in life”.

Name: Tiaana Catriona Ofoia

Status: Part-time staff

Staff post: Receptionist

Future career: Teacher

Background: Tiaana comes from a family of eight; six sisters, one brother and eight grand chil-dren. She has been working part-time at USP Alafua for a few years now but will soon be a full time staff member. She loves to make new friends, read and play sports. Her family is her first priority and she plans to continue her studies in the future. Her message to all the readers is to “Never let the fear of not knowing what will happen keep you from trying” and “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins”.

STAFF PROFILE


Editor in Chief : Mohammed Umar Publications Officer : Dolly Autufuga Email : [email protected]

Documents

South Pacific Agricultural News Span...South Pacific Agricultural News Oct-Nov-Dec 2016 2 In addition, there has been an in-crease in the total number of graduates, from 111 last year