Overview:
Across the Pacific, some of the most powerful changes in agriculture are happening quietly — in backyard farms, family gardens and small community enterprises led by women.
From Fiji to Palau, Tonga and the Solomon Islands, women farmers are transforming everyday crops like taro, guava, candlenuts and ngali nuts into food, income and opportunities for their communities. Their work is not just about farming — it is about food security, local knowledge and building stronger Pacific economies from the ground up.
9 March 2026
(SPREP)
In Sabeto, just outside Nadi, Fiji, the harvest begins quietly. A guava drops from a tree. Duruka (Fijian asparagus or Saccharum edule) stands ready to be cut. A basket fills with greens. By the time the sun climbs higher, some of the harvest will become chutney, or jam, and some will be packed and sent to customers via a simple Viber message.
A similar rhythm unfolds across the ocean. In Vava’u, Tonga, candlenuts dry slowly in the sun before being turned into oil scented with local flowers. In the Solomon Islands, Ngali nuts move from farm plots to processing tables where they become butter, biscuits and cosmetics. In Palau, taro, bananas and tapioca grow in soil that has been tended for years to feed both family and community.
Four women are at the centre of this work. They farm, process, organise and teach. Their farms look different, but the purpose is the same. Food, income and knowledge are moving outward from gardens and small enterprises that women have built with persistence and patience. Across the Pacific, agriculture often begins in places like these.
For Daphne Tudreu, farming began after decades in a classroom. At 65, the former Home Economics and Food and Nutrition teacher now spends her time among the cassava, dragon fruit, spinach, guava and soursop on her farm in Kelaia, Sabeto. She began farming in 2023; however, food has always been part of her life’s work. What motivates her now is the possibility she sees in the crops around her.
Many families, she says, are overlooking the food that grows easily around them. Her interest lies in showing what those foods can become. A basket of fruit does not stay a basket for long. Soursop becomes frozen packs ready for juice. Guava turns into jam and soon into guava cheese. Vegetables become soups, chutneys, and meals that last for several days.
“I look at what is growing and think about how it can become something new,” she says.
That instinct to transform harvest into food or income is shared by other women across the region. In Palau, Mesiwal Madlutk has spent two decades growing taro, tapioca, banana and sugar cane on her farm in Ngermetengel and Ngerutechei. Her crops feed her family and supply food for the wider community. For her, the motivation is simple. Local food is a basic need.
“Families depend on the crops we grow,” she says. Harvest time remains her favourite part of the work.
Across thousands of kilometres of ocean, the crops differ, but the reasoning behind them remains remarkably similar. Food grown locally means fewer households relying entirely on imported goods and more stable prices. For our women farmers of the Pacific, that is reason enough to keep planting.
In Vava’u, Loisi Halaliku and her family grow taro and tapioca, but their work extends into a small enterprise built around candlenuts, known locally as tuitui. Through their business, Haitelenisia Pure Tuitui Oil, the nuts are processed into oils and other products scented with traditional flowers and leaves. The process depends heavily on the seasons. Nuts, flowers and leaves must be dried well before processing, so the dry months are spent preparing raw materials.
Climate change complicates that cycle. Unpredictable weather can slow production or delay drying, but still, the work continues. The oil business has created employment opportunities and a market for raw materials gathered within the community. Loisi believes that a small family business gives women both independence and purpose.
“Do your best with a happy heart in your farming or business,” she says.
In the Solomon Islands, Cynthia Liconia is also turning local crops into new opportunities. At 31, she works as a Manager with SOL-AGRO, a company that processes Ngali nuts into baked products, nut butter and cosmetics. The business works closely with farmers who grow the nuts, creating income for rural households while producing goods that can reach larger markets.
SOL-AGRO follows organic principles and has been engaged in training on Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) provided by the Pacific Organic and Ethical Trade Community (POETCom) since 2021.
Cynthia sees organic agriculture as part of a larger effort to encourage safer food production. Agriculture, she says, feeds families and supports livelihoods.
“As a woman, I am proud to contribute to food security and income generation,” she explains.
Farms often become places where knowledge travels. Back in Sabeto, Daphne Tudreu has begun opening her farm to women from nearby communities, connecting them with skills-based training from experts in organic farming, i.e., Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises & Development (FRIEND), Rise Beyond the Reef, and, of course, Pacific Community (SPC) through POETCom. Many arrive looking for practical skills that could lead to income.
Some learn to make jams or chutneys. Others explore dehydrating fruit or producing cassava flour. Equipment from Fiji’s Ministry of Agriculture, including solar dryers, has made experimentation easier. Training sessions sometimes run for several days. Participants test recipes, learn preservation techniques, and discuss how small backyard gardens could grow into micro-businesses.
Daphne is interested in more than teaching recipes. She wants to build a network of women who can produce, share knowledge and eventually reach markets together. “There are many families who have land or gardens but do not know how to turn that into income,” she says.
Elsewhere in the Pacific, similar ideas are emerging. Cynthia encourages rural women in the Solomon Islands to consider agribusiness. Loisi’s oil business purchases nuts and flowers from community members. Mesiwal’s farm in Palau supplies food that families rely on.
Discussions about the future of Pacific agriculture often focus on policies, imports or climate challenges. Yet across the region, quieter efforts are already reshaping how food is grown and used. A retired teacher experimenting with guava jam in Fiji. A family in Tonga transforming candlenuts into fragrant oils. A young manager in the Solomon Islands is building a market around Ngali nuts. A long-time farmer in Palau is ensuring that local crops continue to feed families.
None of them describes their work as extraordinary. They talk about planting, harvesting, drying, experimenting and teaching. They talk about community and family. They talk about food. But together, their efforts form something larger than individual farms.
Through projects and in partnership with local government ministries of Agriculture, SPC is proud to support women like Daphne, Cynthia, Loisi, and Mesiwal, who are cultivating crops, businesses, and skills that strengthen the region’s food systems from the ground up. The farms may not look big from the outside, but their impact reaches far beyond the soil. Through their work, knowledge travels, confidence grows, and more women are beginning to see agriculture as something worth stepping into.