News from: Planting Materials Network, Pacific - Solomon Islands

Taro Diversity Fairs Held in The Solomons

24 April 2002

843 varieties of taro have been collected by The Planting Material Network in The Solomon Islands over the last year with funding from the EU and the South Pacific Commission's Taro-gen Project.

Roselyn Kabu and Ann from Kwalo village jointly opening the fair

All 200 labelled taros were laid out on tables especially made for the event

In each of the four provinces a central garden has been used to grow out the provincial collection and a diversity fair held. These were timed for the taro harvest in March and April.

Michel and Jude of The Seed Savers' Network attended the diversity fair on April 15th and 16th in Malaita, an eastern island of the archipelago. It was held inland in the mountains in Central Kwarae and attracted over 200 people from around Malaita. Over 200 taros had been grown out in the village of Kwalo and were on display. Groups of people took samples of ten taros to cook in the fire enclosed in nodes of a large bamboo, then taste tested and scored them. At the end of the two days the taros were divided up for people to grow them back in their own gardens.

The older people in all their lives had not seen such a diversity. Taro is the most nutritious of the root crops grown in Melanesia, but is being neglected in favour of sweet potato and cassava that require less fertile soil. Soil fertility is reducing due to population pressure on fragile and steep forest soils. However taro is considered the best available starch crop for weaning babies and feeding young children and The Planting Material Network is focussing on methods of improving soil and conserving as many taro varieties as possible.

Retaining diversity is very important as some varieties perform well in dry years and others in wet, some are more resistant than others to the many diseases and pests of taro and others are suited to particular soils.

Some of the visitors brought along yet more varieties and were awarded prizes. In the competition for how many varieties you could name, an older woman won the prize by naming twenty. I felt I knew a bit about taro before I went along, but by examining so many varieties, I now know so much more, like where to look for distinguishing marks, and there are many. For example colour, whether a shade of green, purple or red - of the leaf spots, stems, collars, tubers and flesh - is an obvious determining characteristic. Then there are stripes on some stems and some tubers are round while others are elongated. And I could go on.

While cooked by steaming over the fire sealed in a bamboo node is a delectable way of eating taro, taro chips fried in oil, and boiled then mashed taro are delicious.

There are many strong customs related to the growing of taro. One must not enter the taro garden after eating turtle or mangrove fruits. Menstruating women are not allowed in. The taro must be cut and harvested with a small shiny sharpened specific shell, never with a knife. Taro has a mystical significance for many tribes. It is likened to human beings.

The speeches from a beautifully decorated dais emphasised the need to conserve taro diversity in situ and to value both the nutritional and cultural aspects of this crop.

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Classification

Subject  Event
Regional relation  Pacific - Solomon Islands
Audience  Academic Researchers - Students: Tertiary - Government and Policy Makers - NGOs