ROMA TARO SAMOA – “THE CHIEFS CHOICE” – since 2012
The Roma Taro Samoa Story
1992 – WESTERN SAMOA
Samoa’s taro industry was worth some $4 million to the country. Just one year later, Samoa’s taro was gone, destroyed by a fungal disease called the taro leaf blight. All the varieties of taro grown in Samoa proved susceptible and they were all quickly wiped out. Gone was an export income, a staple
food source and a way of life interlinked with a culture.
2009 – INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA
A lot had changed since the decline of Samoa’s taro industry, even the name of the country itself. One thing that had not changed was the Samoan appetite for taro, especially for the original Samoan varieties popular before the leaf blight disease. After years of hard work in conjunction with other partner countries Samoa was able to successfully breed five varieties of taro which are resistant to the leaf blight disease and which had the same traits as popular past varieties.
2010 – SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
As a result of this successful research, Samoa taro exports were revived and a once dead export industry began to slowly rebuild. An article on these developments is reported by the Samoan Observer (link to article?) and is picked up with interest in Australia, signalling the birth of the Roma Taro Samoa (“RTS”) “project”.
2010 – 2012 – SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA/ SAMOA
Months of research and planning followed as well as hours logged in transit between Australia and Samoa. The Samoan Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (“MAF”) were immense in their assistance, ensuring that all concerns were adequately addressed and providing invaluable guidance on the project. Number crunching, logistics and a realistic forecast for the success and sustainability of a renewed Samoan taro industry were three key concerns addressed during this time.
23 APRIL 2012 – GAGAIFOLEVAO, DISTRICT OF LEFAGA, SAMOA
After months of planning, the RTS project was launched with a total of 12,000 taro shoots being planted. Three of the five new taro varieties planted to test suitability for the project were the Black (Tama Samoa), Red (Lalelei O Samoa) and Green (Manaia Samoa). A small team of four (4) full time employees were hired with the assistance of sixteen (16) casual workers and a handful of family members. All worked very hard over three (3) full days and managed to plant the 12,000 taro shoots over three (3) acres. DECEMBER 2012 – GAGAIFOLEVAO, DISTRICT OF LEFAGA, SAMOA – CYCLONE EVAN
The devastating Cyclone Evan struck Samoa causing significant damage and loss of life. While the RTS project sustained some damage in the form of giant banyan tress toppling over on the land burying hundreds of crops, no injuries were suffered and the modest shelter stood the test of Evan. The subsequent wet months also had a significant impact on the planting objectives in early 2013, proving to be an invaluable lesson in planning and forecasting (weekly weather, seasonal patterns, resourcing and financial) for the project.
2013 – SAMOA
Out of the chaos of Cyclone Evan came the silver lining of the first RTS harvest. As the harvest was brought forward sooner than anticipated the timing for NZ and USA exports did not match up, causing concerns. Through hard work, a buyer was sourced and the first RTS harvest was exported to neighbouring American Samoa. In the following months RTS successfully supplied taro for export to NZ, USA and American Samoa. The RTS workforce has since grown to seven (7) full time employees with additional casual workers as and when required. While the work force grew, the number of varieties planted decreased. The Green variety was the first to be stopped due to poor yield. This has since been followed by the Black variety that is slowly being phased out. While individual yield size for Black was pleasing, its quality suffered through inconsistency in growth between batches. The Black has also suffered as a direct result of the overwhelming preference by international and local consumers for the Red variety. As a result of these small successes and steep learning curves, RTS continues to mature and transition from being a “project” to a fully fledged commercial venture. THANK YOU
RTS would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have made this possible to date, notably:
Misa Konelio (A.C.E.O), Pueta Tanielu and the team at the Samoan Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Reverend Fereti Moenoa and the team at Manai Exports
Mr. Vaemu Tuimauga and the team at BFV SQS Exports
The RTS team who are at the coal face of this project: Malae Leua, Sepe, Afele, Manai’a, Ligo, Setefano and Kalepo as well as all the casual workers who have given their time when needed. The Taua’aletoa and Faumuina families as well as the RTS network of friends for their never- ending support, with a very special mention to Tumama Faumuina and the Matriach of the Faumuina Family Fa’amalele Faumuina for all the love and support at ground zero. THE FUTURE
RTS have a number of plans and projects in the pipeline which we hope to unveil in the months to come for both local and international markets. More on these projects in the near future, no doubt you will read about it here first. For now, RTS will continue to work towards our four main goals;
1. Provide premium export quality taro for international markets.
2. Contribute to rebuilding the Samoan taro export industry.
3. Contribute to the economies of both the district of Lefaga and Samoa through fair and gainful, permanent and casual employment, as well as local trade.
4. Make quality taro accessible and affordable for Samoan residents. Fa’afetai le lagolagosua ma le nofo tapua'i. Soifua ma ia manuia. Roma Taro Samoa
