A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote sustainable and resilient livelihoods for communities across the Solomon Islands has been sealed this week.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MALD) and World Vision Solomon Islands (WVSI) signed the deal at the MALD headquarters in Honiara, marking a shared commitment.
MALD Permanent Secretary Dr Samson Viulu and WVSI National Director Ms Asuntha Charles both signed the agreement.
In his remarks, Dr Viulu said the process of finalising the MOU reflected the strong commitment of both partners to support Solomon Islanders through resilient livelihood opportunities.
“It took us some time before we reached this conclusion, but the good thing about taking time is ensuring that the agreement meets the expectations of all parties.
“I want to assure you that the ministry is very happy to move forward with the signing of this MOU.”
Dr Viulu added that the partnership aligns with the government’s two overarching policy priorities for the agriculture sector: making agriculture attractive across all levels of society and enabling people to earn a sustainable living from it.
“We see that young people are increasingly not attracted to agriculture in Solomon Islands, and this is a common challenge in many island countries, we want to make agriculture attractive by providing the capacity for people to have money in their pockets.
“When you want to empower people, the most effective way is to put money in their hands, with income, people have choices whether to buy food, produce food, or invest. That is what we want agriculture to achieve,” he said.
WVSI National Director Ms Charles said World Vision looks forward to working closely with MALD to reach rural communities nationwide.
“This MOU binds World Vision and the Ministry to a bigger purpose reaching communities and ensuring food security for vulnerable people, especially children.
“Despite the challenges of climate change, we want communities to be assured that their resources can become productive.”
Ms Charles said the agreement represents hope for families, particularly mothers who plant crops with the expectation of feeding their children, earning income for school fees, and creating employment opportunities for future generations.
“This MOU is a commitment between the government and World Vision to work together so that food security for every person in Solomon Islands is assured. At World Vision, we believe that when families are flourishing, children thrive.
“We want future generations to have access to healthy, chemical-free food that supports their growth and development.”
The deal will run for a two-year period and will end on February 2028.
– MALD Press Release
