Learning more about conservation – Cook Islands News

Secretary for Agriculture Temarama Anguna-Kamana says the Pacific Agricultural Plant Genetic Resources Network (PAPGREN) meeting continues to highlight the importance of each Pacific Island taking responsibility for preserving and conserving its own resources.

Anguna-Kamana
and the Crops Research Division director William Wigmore are in Fiji this week attending
the Pacific Agricultural Plant Genetic Resources Network meeting.

Speaking
to the Pacific Community (SPC), Anguna-Kamana shared how important such meetings
are for the region.

She said
there are some traditional varieties of trees and crops that no other country
has, so it is important to maintain these trees.

Anguna-Kamana
said the Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) with SPC provides an opportunity
for countries to preserve or conserve their resources by sending them to CePaCT
for safekeeping.

“If the
country requires it, we can access those resources to build our stocks at
home,” she said.

“I think
there also needs to be a focus on capacity within the country in training
necessary staff for breeding programmes.”

Anguna-Kamana
said that the Cook Islands hopes the meeting will provide opportunities for the
Agriculture Ministry staff to learn about conservation. “But also, as a way to
increase the resources that we have, that can be shared to the farmers so that
we never lose any of our vegetables,” she said.

She said
the meeting illustrates the partnership the Ministry has with SPC and helps
Pacific Island countries to preserve and conserve traditional agricultural
resources.

According
to SPC, since its establishment, the Pacific’s gene bank CePaCT, has been
dynamic in its role in conserving the region’s important Plant Genetic
Resources and making them available for all Pacific Island countries and
territories.

CePaCT
currently conserves over 2300 accessions of 70 crop and tree species in their
facilities in Suva, Fiji. The Centre has distributed 97,000 plant tissue
cultures of 15 crops and more than 1000 kilograms of seeds to 50 countries.