Pohnpei Farmer's Fair a Success

By Amy Levendusky

The Pohnpei Farmer's Fair which coincided with World Food Day this year was a great success. The Fair was held on Friday, October 20th, 2006 at Pohnpei Agriculture inside of the Botanical Gardens. Activities included a food crop competition, a healthy cooking competition, and an essay/art competition for high school and elementary students. Demonstration booths were also set up for public viewing, including the Island Food Community of Pohnpei (IFCP), the Cooperative Research and Extension Services (CRE) of COM/FSM Land Grant, Public Health, Conservation Society of Pohnpei, DSAP, and the FSM National Biosafety Project. The event was organized by Pohnpei State Agriculture, COM/FSM Land Grant, and the Island Food Community of Pohnpei.

A total of 114 farmers competed in 53 categories in the food crop competition.
Mr. Pensis Elias from Kitti received the most points overall for his entries in the crop competition. (5 points for 1st place, 4 for 2nd Place, 3 for 3rd Place, 2 for 4th Place, and 1 for 5th Place) Mr. Sosner Edgar from U won 1st prize for his 210 pound yam, Kehp en Dol en Wai and his Namwuh Weitahta yam. Mr. Luciano Apraham from Sokehs won 1st prize for his 210 pound yam, Kehp Peniou. Ms. Mathia Pluhs from Nett won 1st prize for her breathtakingly large bunch of Iemwahn bananas. An abundance of fruit and vegetable crops and an impressive variety of banana and sugar cane entries highlighted the significance of locally-grown foods in Pohnpei.

A total of 19 participants entered the Healthy Cooking Competition which focused on local food recipes. The categories included ripe Taiwang banana, ripe Karat banana, Mwahng (giant swamp taro), Kipar (pandanus), and any local food. The criteria included using a healthy cooking method (i.e. steamed, boiled, baked, or raw), using healthy ingredients (i.e. less salt, sugar, fat), good taste and appearance, written recipe accompanying the dish, local ingredients, and food sanitation.
Mr. Samuel Washington from Kitti won 1st prize for his Karat banana cake. Ms. Pelihda Waltu from Kitti won 1st prize for her Kipar (pandanus) jelly. Ms. Eunice Hedgar from U won 1st prize for her Daiwang chocolate milkshake. Ms. Elizabeth Peter from Kitti won 1st prize for her Mwahng recipe and for the open recipe category.

Ivy-Rose Edwin of PICS won 1st Prize in the 12th grade Essay Competition, along the theme "How can you and your family promote local foods for ensuring food security?" Ivy read her essay during the World Food Day ceremony. Rusty Primo of Awak Elementary School won 1st prize in the 8th grade Art Competition, along the same theme.

The World Food Day Committee would like to thank everyone who participated in World Food Day 2006 and the following agencies for organizing/staffing this event: Pohnpei Agriculture of the Office of Economic Affairs, College of Micronesia-FSM Land Grant Program, Island Food Community of Pohnpei, Pohnpei Department of Education, FSM National Government, Development of Sustainable Agriculture in the Pacific (DSAP), Pohnpei Department of Health, Natural Resources Conservation Service, College of Micronesia-FSM Media Center, Conservation Society of Pohnpei, Foodland, and the FSM National Biosafety Project. The Committee thanks the following agencies for funding World Food Day 2006: Pohnpei State Legislature, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, GEF Small Grants Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Pohnpei Department of Health, Bank of FSM, Pohnpei Island Architect and Construction, FSM Development Bank, Pacific German Regional Forestry Project, Do It Best, New Zealand Government, Telecom, Ace Office Supply, V6AH Radio, and Yoshie Enterprises.