The Bureau of Agriculture (BOA) together with its partner agencies had visited Kayangel on March 23 and 24 to provide agricultural extension services that will help the state’s residents grow crop varieties that thrive in saline and sandy soil.
BOA Director Fernando Sengebau invited teams from the Palau Community College-Cooperative Research and Extension (PCC-CRE), National Development Bank of Palau (NDBP) and the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) for the conduct of the activity.
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Benjamin Tsai of the TTM and staffs of PCC-CRE had set up container cultivation system and taught students how to transplant vegetable seedlings such as Chinese cabbage, eggplant, okra and radish during the first day of the visit.
An intergrated workshop was also held in the evening which was attended by around 40 residents of the state. Tsai also introduced TTM’s “Horticulture and Nutrition Enhancement Project” and recommended four kinds of fruits that can be grown in Kayangel Island namely kingkang, wax apple, dragon fruit and guava.
During the last day of the trip, staffs from BOA and Tsai had surveyed the agricultural environment and distributed organic pest control formula (10ml sunflower oil and 1ml of Joy with 1000ml water) to home gardeners. The formula can be used to control mealybugs on chilipepper and fruit trees.
TTM also eyes to hold vegetables and fruit cultivation workshop every month this year and offer courses regarding farm designing and management, preparing vegetable and fruit seedlings, plant cultivation and management, plant pest and disease control, and organic compost making. [/restrict]