The Solomon Islands Agriculture Rural Transformation (SIART) Project has recruited seven new Young Professionals (YPs) to work as junior agriculture extension officers in Malaita and Guadalcanal Province.
With the Young Professionals program, SIART aims to build a sustainable agricultural sector by providing practical, on-the-ground experience to new agriculture graduates to work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL) and community resource persons in the provinces.
An Induction Training Workshop was hosted for the seven new Young Professionals from 26th – 30th January 2026 at the SIART Project office in Honiara.
Before deployment to their respective work areas, the Young Professionals receive comprehensive training covering a wide range of topics.
These include an introduction to ABPOs, their structures and operations, and what is expected of the Young Professionals in supporting them.
Additional training areas include project work planning, tracking the implementation of activities, providing support to ABPOs, preparation of ABPO acquittals, and reporting on activity milestones.
The Young Professionals are also trained in data collection using tablets to meet project MIS requirements, as well as in managing and working with ABPOs in rural settings.
Further training is provided in record keeping, basic financial management, and marketing. Following the classroom-based training, the Young Professionals participate in field-based practical sessions focused on collecting data from ABPOs in Guadalcanal Province.
This is one of SIART’s successful initiative, and with the seven new Young Professionals the Project now has 50 young professionals recruited to work with Agribusiness Producer Organisations (ABPOs) and link with MAL offices in Guadalcanal, Malaita and Makira/Ulawa Province.
SIART Project Manager, Mr William Okekeni while congratulating the new Young Professionals described their engagement as an empowering experience and one with practical exposure in the agriculture sector.
He said the Young Professionals have proven to be an effective addition to the MAL Extension service to assist ABPOs implement their business plan activities.
ABPOs are groups of farmers and agribusinesses who work together to access markets, financing and support service with the aim to increase farm production and help farmers sell more products
“These young professionals are significantly boosting the capacity of provincial MAL offices to support ABPO development, business plan implementation, recordkeeping, and grant monitoring.
“With these graduates, SIART is building a new generation of trained agricultural workers for the Ministry and the country as a whole,” Mr Okekini said.
By empowering and training Young Professionals and other stakeholders, the project aims to build a stronger, more resilient, and sustainable agricultural sector in the Solomon Islands.
Apart from gaining valuable exposure to the agricultural sector, SIART also provides these young professionals with the long-term goal of creating opportunities for full-time employment with the country’s Ministry of Agriculture.
The SIART Project’s objective is to increase agricultural production and improve market access in selected value chains in Guadalcanal, Malaita, and Makira/Ulawa. Additionally, the project ensures a prompt and effective response in the event of an Eligible Crisis or Emergency.
