SIART ensure ABPOs mitigate environmental and socials risks

Sunday 24 May, Honiara – The Solomon Islands Agriculture and Rural Transformation (SIART) Project is ensuring that farmers from Agribusiness Producer Organizations (ABPOs) implement an Environmental Code of Practice (ECOP), a requirement for World Bank funded agriculture projects.

These are ABPOs in Guadalcanal, Malaita and Makira-Ulawa Province who have grant agreements with SIART. SIART is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL) and supported by the World Bank.

The ECOP serves as a practical, step-by-step guide to ensure smallholder farming and infrastructure activities minimize environmental and social risks. It covers key agricultural practices and responsibilities.

SIART’s Environmental Safeguards Officer, Mr Steve Sae highlighted that the ECOP is a standardized set of environmental and social mitigation measures applied to manage minor, localized, or routine impacts during the planning, design, and construction of small-scale infrastructure project.

Mr Sae in May 2026 led a team from SIART to conduct environmental and social monitoring at ABPOs in Malaita Province, particularly for those involved in piggery farming.

SIART currently has 16 ABPOs in Malaita Province involving in piggery farming representing a $6.99 million investment.

“Before these projects were up and running, we have done initial environment screening where we identified environmental and social impacts and risks and come up with the ECOP,” Mr Sae explained.

“Now that we are at the implementation stage, we are going around to all our projects to monitor the implementation of the ECOP.

“Inside the ECOP we have the mitigation measures our ABPOs have to implement so that they can mitigate the risks and impacts that we have identified in the initial stage,” he added.

A good example of a mitigation measure included in the ECOP for piggery breeding shelters is to have drainage purposely to trap waste water allowing it to flow to a septic tank.

“If we do not put in place this mitigation measure, all these waste water will end up in the environment and cause public health issues causing diseases to surrounding communities.

“So, it is important to ensure that the ECOP is implemented by our ABPOs,” Mr Sae said.

“This is done in all project provinces in Makira/Ulawa, Guadalcanal and Malaita for our ABPOs in piggery and also in cocoa and coconut.

“The important thing is that we would want to see farmers implement this ECOP, so that we have good construction and operation of the facilities,” he added.

The SIART Project also support the implementation of the ECOP through screening by evaluating proposed farms and projects for potential risks, training conducted by ABPO Community Resource Persons (CRPs) and Extension Officers for farmers and agribusiness operators on executing the specific ECOP measures and monitoring by Project staff during routine site visits to ensure farmers and contractors are actively following the prescribed environmental guidelines.

The SIART Project’s objective is to increase agricultural production and improve market access in selected value chains in Guadalcanal, Malaita, and Makira/Ulawa. Additionally, the project ensures a prompt and effective response in the event of an Eligible Crisis or Emergency.

SIART’s Environmental Safeguards Officer, Mr Steve Sae inspecting the septic tank area for a piggery breeding shelter at Hautahe village in east Are’are, Malaita Province on Tuesday 19 May 2026

A good example of a mitigation measure included in the ECOP for piggery breeding shelters is to have drainage purposely to trap waste water allowing it to flow to a septic tank. Pictured here the drainage of a SIART supported piggery breeding shelter at Kiu village, West Are’are, Malaita Province.

SIART’s Environmental Safeguards Officer, Mr Steve Sae (right) with a member of the ABPO in Warokai, West Are’are, Malaita Province

SIART’s Environmental Safeguards Officer, Mr Steve Sae (right), MAL Extension Officer for the southern region of Malaita (middle) and Chairman of the ABPO in Eliote village inside the Maramasike passage separating big and small Malaita.

The breeding and storage shelters at Eliote village currently still under construction

The breeding shelter at Kiu village, west Are’are supported by the SIART Project