Pacific Island Farmers Organisation Network Limited

Project FORI FORI (Farmer-led Research and Innovation) is a global program funded through the EU OACP and managed by Agricord. Pacific Island Farmers Organisation Network Limited (PIFON) is contracted to implement a project called: Farmer Innovation for Sustainable Breadfruit Value Chains in the Pacific "Pacific Breadfruit Project". The project value is 1.6 million Euro over 4 years. In the Pacific, 5 farmer organisations lead action research initiatives in 5 countries - Te Tango Enua (Cook Islands), Tutu Rural Training Centre (Fiji Islands), PNG Women in Agriculture (Papua New Guinea), Kastom Gaden Association (Solomon Islands), and Nishi Trading Ltd (Tonga). Regional activities supported through FORI include the recent Breadfruit Festival and Summit 2024.

The Climate Resilient Farming in the Pacific project has the objective, "To strengthen resilience, food and water security of Pacific farmers by helping them adapt to the threat of changing climate and natural disasters. It aims to achieve this through 3 components: Component 1: Climate Resilient Farming Households - Farmer centred practical adaptation responses for climate resilient farming, Component 2: Farmers' Voices are heard - Farmers have a voice at the table of policy / international frameworks to ensure resources are allocated appropriately and generate results and Component 3: Stronger Farmer Organisations - Building resilience at organisational level; stronger organisations with the right technical expertise and tools so they will be there as a vehicle to address the future threats. Expected results include new technologies that respond to the resilience and adaptation needs of small farmers reaching up to 84,190 farming households in 7 countries through 30 farmer organisations; FOs with stronger capacity including new knowledge in climate change, gender, women's economic empowerment, water security and disaster risk reduction; new and more effective partnerships and collective action to address climate change and resilience; policy, planning and climate finance accountability of governments improved through increased voice of farmers and their organisations.

IFAD/DFAT - PIRAS Project The IFAD/DFAT - PIRAS Project is financed through contributions from the Rural Poor Stimulus Facility (RPSF), an initiative by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to bolster the resilience of rural livelihoods amid the COVID-19 crisis. The project's goal is to support economic recovery from the pandemic, including improved income generation and food and nutrition security for rural communities. IFAD has provided a grant of USD 1,204,000 (the RPSF Grant) and an additional grant of USD 320,000 funded by the Commonwealth of Australia (Australia Supplementary Grant). The total project value amounts to USD 1,524,000, with an expected completion in August 2024.

Project APFP PIFON signed a Letter of Agreement (LOA) with the Asia Farmers Association (AFA) under the Asia Pacific Farmers Program (APFP) in 2019 for a total project value of USD 240,000, representing 8% of the total project budget of USD 3 million. Breadfruit has been identified as the priority commodity for the Pacific under APFP, and the project aims to engage with nine PIFON member countries, including: Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, and Vanuatu. Through APFP, PFO has facilitated direct support to its FO members in the North Pacific (Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia). APFP concludes in June 2025. The Asia-Pacific Farmers Program (APFP) is designed to support and empower smallholder and vulnerable farmers and rural producers-both men and women-by working through their farmer organizations (FOs) across 29 countries in Asia and the Pacific. It primarily targets smallholder farmers who are members or potential members of local and national FOs, including those with the potential to become active participants in emerging agricultural value chains through improved access to quality FO services. The overall goal of the APFP is to contribute to an enabling environment for rural poverty reduction by strengthening the capacity of smallholders and their organizations at national, sub-regional, and regional levels. Its specific objective is to enhance the professional capacities of FOs so they can deliver sustainable, demand-driven business and technical services, and effectively engage in policy dialogue that leads to improved livelihoods and incomes for smallholder farmers and producers. The project consists of three key components-(i) FO services development, (ii) policy engagement, and (iii) project management and monitoring & evaluation (M&E)-and will begin with mapping and profiling activities to produce and disseminate national directories of mapped, registered, and active FOs and agricultural development platforms.

The funds provided by FAO under this Agreement will be used to strengthen the adaptation capacity of farmersganizations in the Pacific, supporting the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) objectives aligned with FAO's "Better Production, Better Environment, and Better Life" priorities. Specifically, the project contributes to Better Production (BP.4) by enhancing small-scale producers' equitable access to resources; Better Environment (BE.1) by promoting climate change-mitigating and adaptive agri-food systems; and Better Life (BL.7) by scaling up investment for sustainable rural livelihoods. The initiative aims to achieve FFF Outcome 1, which focuses on creating more enabling policy and legal frameworks for Forest and Farm Producer Organizations (FFPOs) through inclusive governance and cross-sectoral collaboration. Expected outputs include: (1.1) FFPOs developing clear advocacy agendas that reflect the interests of all members; Output A, the establishment of a unified and coordinated Pacific farmers' voice in regional and international forums; Output B, the organization of a regional event for FO leaders to co-design a detailed climate change adaptation project; and Output C, the development of a Climate Change Adaptation Policy Toolkit to guide ongoing advocacy and policy engagement.

PARDI 2 Project The Pacific Agribusiness Research in Development Initiative (PARDI 2) is a research program funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), focusing on the development of agribusiness in the Pacific to foster economic growth and improve livelihoods. The project has successfully developed tools and knowledge for identifying inclusive agribusiness opportunities, analyzed value chain and market constraints, and provided solutions for selected Pacific products. It has also evaluated the effectiveness of participatory guarantee systems to enhance value chain performance for new market opportunities and implemented strategies to increase the availability of agribusiness information and research capacity. The total value of the project is AUD 819,672 (approximately USD 556,842), and it was completed on 31st December 2023.

WRF Project - The project "Strengthening the Agency of CSOs in Developing Policy Frameworks for Equitable Rural Development and an Enhanced Contribution of Family Farmers towards the Achievement of the SDGs" aims to promote rural and agricultural policies that foster inclusive socio-economic development and sustainable food systems, addressing inequalities-particularly among the rural poor and women. The overall objective is to ensure that development policies work for both people and the planet. The intended outcome is a strengthened capacity and influence of civil society organizations (CSOs) in shaping enabling policy frameworks for equitable rural development and enhancing the role of family farmers in tackling global challenges and achieving the SDGs. To achieve this, the project focuses on three key outputs: Building a stronger network to coordinate advocacy efforts and enable meaningful CSO participation in global policy processes, including the UNDFF 2019-2028, sustainable food systems, climate change, biodiversity, and the 2030 Agenda; Reinforcing the governance, representativeness, and operational capacity of the World Rural Forum (WRF) to enhance knowledge sharing, peer learning, and inclusive collaboration among members and partners; and Strengthening the capacities of WRF members to advance inclusive policy frameworks, promote multi-stakeholder partnerships, and provide effective services that improve the socio-economic well-being and resilience of rural communities.

ACIAR- Sweet Potatoes:The project aims to strengthen resilient root cropping systems in Pacific Island Countries (PICs) by improving the availability and use of pathogen-tested (PT) sweetpotato planting material and promoting better planting and agronomic practices to address challenges from pests, diseases, and climate change. Over two phases, the project will develop clean planting material from farmer varieties, conduct field trials and demonstrations, and implement extension programs to promote PT material and improved practices. It will establish pilot multiplication and distribution systems for root crops such as sweetpotato, taro, and yam, supported by agronomic management training in seedbed and screenhouse technologies. Long-term outcomes include scaling up these systems for post-disaster recovery and ensuring equitable farmer access to clean planting material across PICs. Foundational activities-such as farmer surveys, infrastructure and supply chain studies, and gender-inclusive strategies-will inform implementation. Ultimately, the project seeks to enhance food security, support sustainable livelihoods, and build more resilient root crop systems in the Pacific.