Moorea - Thirty trainees are trained in organic farming

By Correspondent La Dépêche de Tahiti Published onLa Dépêche de TahitiSee my news

It was in Paopao that La Dépêche visited one of the agricultural plots, started a month ago and which has already produced its first harvests. Like the other two, in Afareaitu and Papetoai, learning takes place on a communal plot. In Paopao, it is about a hundred square meters of land adjoining the fire station where the neighborhood center, formerly the “IJSPF center” is located.

On this rather poor plot, the trainees and their trainers planted mainly market garden produce.

"We work according to the principles of organic farming and I teach the trainees new techniques so that in the long term they can have their own family vegetable garden, so that others can embark on processing, or even make one. agricultural production company,” explains Jean-Baptiste Tavanae, a well-known farmer from Papeari.

“These plots, explains the trainer, will also have educational virtues because they will be open to schools so that students can see what a fa’a’apu is in the context of a practical workshop. »

The three vegetable gardens of Moorea are beginning to produce tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, eggplants, depending on the surface area of ​​the land.

“One of our techniques is no-watering – a technique that involves covering the roots of cultivated vegetables with a thick layer of mulch that will keep the soil moist and limit the appearance of weeds. . »

The objective for the trainer and the trainees is to create a vegetable garden at a reduced cost. "We only practice organic farming with certified organic fertilizers to European or French standards" confirms the trainer.

These courses, launched in August, last approximately one month in each of the associated municipalities, with two half-day sessions per week, on Wednesdays and Fridays. The training is offered on a voluntary basis, with recruitment carried out after the dissemination of information in the associated municipalities.

“Moorea is an island where there is little vegetable production. Also this training interests many people, people who wish to produce their own vegetables themselves in their fa'a'apu with new techniques well suited for plots relatively poor in organic matter. Some fa’a’apu are already producing results. »

Jean-Baptiste Tavanae, a farmer certified organic by the SPG Bio Fetia organization, holds a license as a private service provider (trainer). He is regularly contacted to lead training courses which are not limited to the creation of a fa'a'apu, but which also offer assistance in setting up projects.

“We see together the administrative procedures for the creation of a cooperative in each of the associated municipalities concerned. The objective of these cooperatives will be to group production to supply school canteens with market garden products. The constitution of a cooperative facilitates the flow and the sale of productions and it can be of great help for the allocation of land, whether communal or local”.

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