Results for Agriculture

The Royal Agriculture, Fisheries, Tourism and Trade Show for Tongatapu scheduled for this weekend has been postponed until 10 June, and the 'Eua show is postponed until 17 June, in respect of the passing of HRH Princess Mele Siu'ilikutapu. Her funeral is to be held in Tonga soon.

A ‘Save our Seeds’ training was held for farmers and agricultural representatives this week in the launch of a 'Pacific Seeds for Life' program that aims at achieving food security in Tonga.

The Royal Agriculture, Fisheries, Tourism and Trade Show will return in June to July this year, after a hiatus of three-years due to COVID-19 and the 2022 Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunamis.

Twenty Tongan women joined a gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) Harvesting and Post-Harvesting training session, to improve the watermelon export pathway to support women in the agriculture sector in Nuku'alofa, on 17 November.

Investment in Kava is critical in order to enhance its value and take it to global markets, Tonga's Minister for Agriculture, Foods and Forestry, Lord Fohe, told a Kava national consultation in Nuku'alofa recently. Regional consultations are soliciting the views of individual Pacific Island countries and kava stakeholders in order to determine the priorities for the development of a Pacific Regional Kava Strategy.

A group of soil scientists have embarked on a quest to determine the impact of the volcanic ash fall and tsunami caused by the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai volcanic eruption that occurred near Tonga in January this year. Core soil samples collected from areas on Tongatapu and 'Eua will be undergo DNA and chemical analysis at CSIRO’s Analytical Services Unit laboratory in Australia before being archived for future research.

Canned pork, gifted to Tonga as part of Chinese emergency food aid delivery, became the source of a diplomatic incident between the development partners, after Tongan officials stopped the distribution of swine products. The Tonga government expressed “profound regrets”.

Vulnerable rural farmers in Tonga will receive a range of services and support to improve farm productivity and their livelihoods under the Pacific Islands Rural & Agricultural Stimulus Facility (PIRAS) project, launched at Falemasiva Hall, Tailulu College on December 2. By Eleanor Gee.

Tonga is looking to produce a seed collection and storage system to strengthen food security. Research will be carried out with support from the Japanese Government through MORDI Tonga Trust. Seeds may include local fruits and traditional medicinal plants as well as indigenous plants.