Forestry Training Empowers Ra Farmers and Fishers
THE TRAINING AIMS TO EMPOWER COMMUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
The Ministry of Forestry recently awarded thirty-nine farmers and fishermen from six villages in the province of Ra with a Certificate of Participation in Basic Silviculture Training at Nabukadra Village, Kavula.
The two-week training was administered by the Ministry’s Training Division at the request of the villagers through their district representative.
The communities requested the silviculture basic training, which, according to Forest Guard Training Arieta Nailagovesi, is a first for the public with landowner participants.
This shows an encouraging sign of the people’s interest in nature, growing trees and managing them sustainably for the current as well as future generations.
The training is in line with the Ministry’s aim of empowering communities to participate in sustainable forest management practices, sustaining biodiversity and managing forest ecosystem services while providing incomegenerating opportunities and creating rural employment.
Mrs Nailagovesi said the participants were taught the correct methods of nurturing seeds to seedlings, the construction of nurseries, the planting of trees with the accurate spacing specifications and forest management activities to ensure sustainable development.
She added that in the course of the training, 110 seeds were potted and an additional 150 trees were planted by the participants during their practical assessment, contributing to the national tree-planting target of planting 30 million trees in 15 years as a forest resources development, reforestation, landscape restoration, environment protection, biodiversity conservation, carbon enhancement and sequestration initiative.
“The district representative specifically requested for silviculture training as they plan to send villagers to work in New Zealand as part of their poverty alleviation strategy. And so we have come to teach them the knowledge and skills that will help them here at home and wherever they wish to go.”
Acting Director Training Division, Taniela Whippy, said that one of the most significant implications of Fiji’s tree-planting effort was that it enabled people to re-establish a better relationship with nature. Mr Whippy said the Ministry’s role was to economically empower communities to participate in forest restoration efforts in their district or province.
And what better way to do it than to keep engaging with people at the grassroots level, he said.
In addition, he stated that the certification of specific training would also assist people seeking to apply for existing labour mobility programmes in Australia and New Zealand, in support of the National Employment Centre.
Meanwhile, 19 participants who are village-level chainsaw operators were also given their Certificate of Competency in Basic Level for passing the skills test for the use of chainsaws in felling, trimming and cross-cutting. The chainsaw operators’ training is part of a wider effort involving village communities in clean-up interventions following natural disasters.
Empowered participants
The participants were represented by the villages of Nabukadra and Nayavutoka in the district of Kavula and Verevere, Nadavacia, Veidrala, Narikoso in the district of Nakorotubu.
Penaia Bicinivalu, the district representative of Nabukadra and Nayavutoka, praised the Government for responding to their request for silviculture and chainsaw operator training through the Ministry of Forestry.
Mr Bicinivalu said: “A World Bank report reviewed during a meeting of the Ra Provincial Council in 2013 stated that the province had the largest number of people living in poverty in Fiji. So, over the years, the province has engaged its people in a number of revenue-generating activities, and this year, we want to make a difference in the lives of our people, villages, and province.”
He has been in talks with a ‘son of the province’ who lives in New Zealand to recruit some villagers to work in the agriculture and forestry sectors.
“Our main goal is to get our villagers suitable training in the sectors in which our recruiter advised that a demand for labour with skills such as silviculture and chainsaw operators was foreseen.
“We are grateful to the Government through the Ministry of Forestry for coming to our aid and providing our men and youths with the necessary information, skills, and certification that will help them break free from poverty.”
Amania Dabenaise, 32, of Nabukadra Village in Kavula district, said the basic silviculture training was eye-opening because it included many steps that he was unaware of.
The main sources of income for the people in his village are fishing and farming.
Mr Dabenaise said that even if he was not selected for an opportunity to work abroad, he was now better prepared to start his own income-generating nursery to support his family.
“We were fortunate that the Ministry of Forestry brought the training to our doorstep. We thank them for giving their time and trust in us that we will make use of the knowledge acquired to help ourselves, our families and villages, progress for the better.”
Viliame Donu of Nasauvuki Village in Moturiki, Lomaiviti, was also pleased to be a part of the skills training programme. Mr Donu is a Methodist Church lay preacher who has been based at Nabukadra Village for the past five years.
He said that educating people was a game changer since it transformed the participants’ mentality and led them to view things differently.
“Even if we don’t get the chance to work abroad, the skills and knowledge imparted to us by the Ministry of Forestry staff will help us explore alternative ways to earn money.
“It has also taught us to appreciate our forests, to stop cutting down trees, and to plant more trees not only to protect our environment but also for our future generations,” Mr Donu added.
Nacanieli Raituku, 35, was another participant who commended the Government for listening to the people’s concerns and delivering training closer to their homes.
While he has been farming all his life, Mr Raituku said getting formally trained was an experience of a life time.
“I am one of the happiest participants because I personally learnt a lot from the training. We were even taught how to use the resources around us to build a nursery, how to nurture seeds and seedlings to grow well and even up to planting, using the right soil, spacing of plants, etc,” Mr Raituku said.
Our main goal is to get our villagers suitable training in the sectors in which our recruiter advised that a demand for labour with skills such as silviculture and chainsaw operators was foreseen. Penaia Bicinivalu District representative of Nabukadra and Nayavutoka