SIART workshop links Solomon Islands farmers with buyers to improve market access and agribusiness growth
Thursday 7 February, Honiara – A two-day ‘Market Linkage Workshop’ got underway in Honiara on Thursday 7 May 2026 hosted by the Solomon Islands Agriculture Rural Transformation (SIART) Project.
This workshop brings together key stakeholders along the value chain, from producers to buyers, from Government to private sector, and from development partners to service providers.
With this, SIART aims to strengthen connections between Agribusiness Producer Organizations (ABPOs) and markets, identify practical solutions to market access challenges, promote value addition and improved product standards and foster partnerships that will support sustainable agribusiness growth.
Farmers and representatives from SIART’s 32 ABPOs in Guadalcanal Province attended the workshop.
SIART Project Manager, Mr William Okekini said strengthening market linkages is not just about business, it is about improving livelihoods, creating opportunities for our farmers, and contributing to the broader development of our rural communities.
“Agriculture remains a cornerstone of our economy and the primary source of livelihood for the majority of our rural population. Across our provinces, farmers are producing cocoa, coconut, livestock, root crops, and a wide range of other commodities.
“As such, market linkages are therefore not optional, they are essential. They are the bridge between production and income, between effort and reward, and between potential and growth,” he said.
Mr Okekini encouraged participating farmers to engage openly and constructively, share experiences, challenges, and lessons learned, identify practical solutions and partnership opportunities and develop clear actions that can be implemented after this workshop.
“This workshop should not be seen as an end in itself, but as a starting point for stronger collaboration and concrete action,” he added.
For SIART, moving forward it is important to strengthen coordination between stakeholders, support ABPOs to become more market-oriented, improve access to infrastructure and services and enhance monitoring and follow-up to ensure implementation of agreed actions.
“Strengthening market linkages is critical to the transformation of our agriculture sector. It is about ensuring that the hard work of our farmers translates into improved incomes, better livelihoods, and sustainable development.
“This is an opportunity to build partnerships, align our efforts, and take practical steps towards a more connected and competitive agriculture sector,” Mr Okekini said.
Day two of the workshop saw buyers and exporters in the country including some commercial banks present their business to the ABPOs and the ABPOs presenting their product details and in the process strengthening the linkage between buyer and the producer organizations.
One component of the SIART Project is designed to drive agricultural growth and economic transformation by increasing production and fostering commercialization within selected value chains including cocoa, coconut, honey and small livestock, by empowering the APBOs and equipping them with the tools and facilities necessary for success.
Under the Project, 96 ABPOs in three provinces, Guadalcanal, Malaita and Makira/Ulawa Province, have received grants to implement their business plans to further commercialize their activities in the three provinces.
Forty-five (45) ABPOs focus on cocoa, 14 on coconut, 20 on piggery, 9 on food crops and the others include Poultry, spices, honey and coffee.
SIART is a comprehensive initiative by the World Bank and implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL) aimed at enhancing agriculture production, improving market access, and promoting economic resilience in the provinces of Guadalcanal, Malaita and Makira/Ulawa.
PRESS RELEASE
