TILAPIA farming will soon be introduced to all the Rural Training Centres (RTC) nationwide.
This was confirmed by the Director of the Solomon Islands Association of Vocational Rural Training centres (SIAVRTC) Billy Mae.
“This is not a new concept in our rural communities but for our rural training centres, it is a new concept that will be added on to with the other discipline’s introduced in rural training centre’s curriculum.”
He added that this follows a three years partnership development established with the Solomon Islands Association of Vocational Rural Training centre’s (SIAVRTC) and New Zealand Win Tec Waikato School of Technology in New Zealand under the support of the New Zealand Government.
The three year’s partnership runs from 2017 to 2020 and SIAVRTC has recommended three of its training centre’s in Malaita to be piloted since the partnership recommended Malaita as the province to be piloted.
The 3 training centres are Afutara, Ngaligaragara and APSD training centres.
The SIAVRTC director Mr Billy Mae thanked the New Zealand government for their support.
“The overarching goal to introduce the concept in training centres is to strengthen tilapia farming in country with the utilization of RTC’s as a hub for the rural community’s access to have the information to the rural populace for increase food production and a small income in rural households.
“The other input the program will develop is to have Information on tilapia aquaculture farming on app using the existing communication access we have at present to those in the community access to smart mobile phones.
“The program will collect information that are valuable for tilapia farming and provide the information for the community to access.
Its focus of the development is to;
– Increase food and income security in rural households from the tilapia production;
– Introduced tilapia training on tilapia farming for students in the training centre’s to access the information to the communities’;
– To encourage the community access information and venture into such development to sustain their livelihood.
A visit to the three training centre’s in Malaita last week with officials from New Zealand Win tech, the Malaita Province Fisheries office and SIAVRTC office was to have the 3 training centre’s fully informed of the development and to identify sites that will be established as trial demonstration fish ponds to be constructed in the 3 training centre’s.
By LESLEY SANGA
