Soil mix for urban food consumption and sales
Today, I wrote giving examples and illustration of how food could be grown in limited space for home consumption or for sale.
Many Solomon Islanders, given the coronavirus pandemic, are known to be struggling to make a living, feed themselves and their families and to get by day to day.
Freelance journalist of the Solomon Times like Jeremy Gao, Jimmy Nolan and Georgina Kekea have often brought us stories of how ordinary citizens are living their lives, faced with economic hardship and a daily struggle.
Such stories give a vivid illustration of the backbone of the “little people” that make up a high percentage of the population who carry on without incentive payouts or grants but who are still deserving of help.
I read that, perhaps, with some assistance from Australia, a local company creates a soil mix to be sold to farmers and the larger scale vegetable producers.
I suggest, in keeping with my suggestion of cultivating food in portable containers at home or on small plots of land, the company making the nutrient soil mix give free supplies to would-be home producers to enable them to grow their own produce to save money, put food on the table, and sell any excess.
I suggest further that suitable containers like grow bags, old sacks, discarded plastic bottles and containers be given free to householders wanting to try and grow their own food.
To do what I have suggested the Australian High Commission could help with supplying the nutrient soil mix and the UNDP, generous business traders, organizations or other diplomatic missions lend support.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
