On Monday, I went to the Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting at the Taumeasina Island Resort to learn about the latest updates and to network with the business community.

Agenda covered ‘First healthcare insurance provider in Samoa’, Samoa Surety insurance presented, UNU Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Program to me and other important matters. I was pleased that insurance for micro farmers was introduced at a $70 per year premium at $1000.

Are we ready for the rainy season, strong winds, flooding and other natural disasters? The last time we had Cyclone Evan, our farms took almost 16 to 24 months to recover. Fruits and vegetables got so expensive, pumpkins that were usually $10 went up to $30-$35 and now those prices are normal. Great for the farmers but not good for health in general.

If we are trying to make our population healthier but vegetables and fruits are five times the price of processed food, most people will still choose to survive on noodles and imported cancer causing chicken from the US. Anyway, back to the Chamber meeting, the micro farmers can access affordable insurance and it is unique in the fact that if these natural disasters exist, there is no physical assessment done like traditional insurance for claims. As long as the strong winds have met the required conditions, money will be paid out in your M-tala or Digi cash within 14 days.

I am not advertising insurance but it is something worth considering for us small farmers who cannot afford total crop loss or no income during bad weather and stormy conditions. It is not easy to depend on the weather for your livelihood but many of our people do. Fishermen, farmers and any outside work solely depend on weather conditions which is why climate change and mitigation are such mammoth tasks to tackle and get millions in funding.

When it was time for Q & A, I asked about kava farmers, whether we had a kava association and who the best farmers are so I can learn from them. I know nothing about kava but I do know a little bit about the business of farming. I’ve been interested in kava since my Fiji trip last year and this year, I finally managed to have a tiki tour of Lami Kava with the right connections. Fiji is exporting a lot of Kava to Australia, New Zealand, US and Europe.

Something that Samoa also needs to look into.

If the multibillion dollar pharmaceutical companies are looking at the Pacific for the best kava, why aren’t we growing more and extrac8ng our own kava for not only the local market but the export side too? If one farmer here received a $1m grant to build an extraction plant, why haven’t I seen more articles or talked about it? Maybe I have been living under a rock and I'd be keen to learn more.

Thanks to the Chamber for their great initiatives and the wealth of information as well as support offered to the Samoa business community. All projects that add value to our products, provide employment for our people and at the same time encourage more women to get into business gets the tick in my books. Enjoy the rest of the week Samoa and hopefully,

I get to learn more about kava soon with not only the Chamber but also the SAME team.