The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade (MFAET) have contributed to the successful completion and launching of the SAPE Farm packhouse, which was officially opened today, Friday 18th July 2025.
Support for the packhouse was made possible through the funding under the Solomon Islandsโ Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) project, specifically the Enhanced Capacity for Agriculture Trade (ECAT) project, which concluded in late 2023.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Supervising Permanent Secretary of MFAET, Mr. Hickson George, announced that through the EIF- ECAT- project, the Ministry had delivered over SBD 1 million worth of support to SAPE Farm. This included facilitating the procurement of a tractor and trailer, purchasing of packhouse equipment, and supporting overseas marketing initiatives and trips.
โThe opening of this packhouse is a testament to the Ministryโs ongoing commitment to supporting the development of Solomon Islandsโ agriculture sector. Our focus is on boosting production, particularly cassava, for both domestic consumption and export,โ Mr. George stated.
He also highlighted the Ministryโs assistance in facilitating the entry of a Chinese engineer in 2024 to install the newly acquired processing machines at SAPE Farm.
In addition, Mr. George acknowledged the contribution of the PACER Plus program, also administered by MFAET, which funded the procurement of harvest bins. The Ministry coordinated their delivery to SAPE Farm in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.
โMy Ministry, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, is currently working closely with the PACER Plus Implementation Unit to help local farmers and exporters meet food safety standards required for access to the Australian and New Zealand markets,โ he added.
Mr. George expressed appreciation for the financial support provided by the World Trade Organizationโs EIF programme, which enabled the procurement of key processing equipment.
He also acknowledged the Department of External Trade and the EIF-ECAT Team for ensuring that support to Sape farm was delivered.
The EIF is a multi-donor programme aimed at helping Least Developed Countries (LDCs) become more active participants in the global trading system by addressing their supply-side constraints to trade. Solomon Islands is fortunate to be among the Pacific Island countries benefiting from this initiative, alongside Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The Solomon Islands EIF program is housed within the Department of External Trade and has been implementing the EIF programme from 2010- 2023.
SAPE farm, located in North Guadalcanal, is a locally owned enterprise and currently the largest cassava producer in the country.
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