Solomon Islands Rural Development Programme

Solomon Islands Rural Development Programme

After an absence of almost two decades in Solomon Islands, IFAD is partnering with key actors in the region. The Rural Development Programme, phase I, is intended to support the implementation of key priorities identified within the Solomon Islands Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy (ARDS). It thus aims to strengthen public and private institutions, local infrastructure, agricultural support services and provide access to markets and rural financial services.

The programme is expected to reach 70 per cent of the rural population or about 60 per cent of the total population. Of these, women, young people and other disadvantaged groups are among the target group.

One of its challenges is to facilitate the participation of women in commercial agricultural activities, which traditionally have been largely a male domain, while supporting their key role in the production of subsistence crops without increasing their workload.

Other activities include increasing the resilience of agricultural systems to climate variability and climate change by incorporating integrated approaches to land and water management. Such measures are designed to improve productivity as well as ensure that the non-productive functions of the ecosystem are preserved or enhanced.


Source: IFAD