A collaborative project in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea (Lowlands) has started screening for carotenoid-rich sweet potato varieties (i.e. orange-fleshed sweet potato, OFSP), along with carefully considering the social aspects of these and other micronutrient-dense foods, how they fit into the traditional food system, and what factors may be important for promoting them. This project was prompted by studies which indicate suboptimal vitamin A status in population sub-groups in Solomon Islands and PNG, notably in infants, children and pregnant or nursing women. Moreover, during the past 50 years throughout the Pacific and PNG there have been large increases in rates of the so-called metabolic/lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. These result from overconsumption of refined, nutritionally-poor products such as white flour, white rice and sugar, combined with lack of proper exercise.
Agencies involved include ACIAR, HarvestPlus, International Potato Centre (CIP), Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Kastom Gaden Association (KGA), Solomon Islands Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Island Food Community of Pohnpei, PNG National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), World Vision, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (QDPIF), and Makira Ulawa Province and community groups.
Over 50 orange/yellow sweet potato varieties were collected and analysed (using high-performance liquid chromatography), as well as a selection of sweet potato leaf samples and other food crops. Collecting areas included the remote Santa Cruz Islands, Makira, Santa Ana, Guadalcanal, Western Solomons/Isabel (by Pita Tikai, KGA), and samples were also sent from Madang, PNG by World Vision. Project activity in PNG was limited in 2007 due to the leader's commitments to biofortification programs in several countries, and also the project aim of being mostly Solomons-based.
Promising varieties (with beta-carotene levels over 100 mg/kg dry weight, and which are highly regarded by local consumers for their insect/pathogen resistance, yield, flavour, texture and storage ability) have been identified from this survey and are being multiplied by KGA. This is where the workshops, talks and distribution of promotional material (see below) are essential, as knowledge of the health benefits of micronutrient-rich local foods is not widespread at present. In addition, financial support has been provided to key agriculture and education officers on Makira, who are involved in sweet potato field trials, banana seed gardens, training programs for women, and agricultural extension in the Star Harbour/Weathercoast area.
Cassava and sweet potato leaves were found to be useful sources of carotenoids; for example the reddish leaves of Beraha cassava contained nearly 400 mg/kg of beta-carotene. Cooking in coconut cream enhances carotenoid bioavailability.
Seven nutritional workshops promoting OFSPs, high-carotenoid bananas and nutritious local foods generally, and including information gathering, were held on Makira in October 2007. The workshops were led by Dr Lois Englberger, renowned anthropologist and nutritionist from the Island Food Community, Pohnpei, Micronesia. There was great interest among local people in this activity and over 700 people attended the workshops in total. Participants were particularly keen on the "Go Local" and "Going Yellow" slogans. Several of the workshops were held on the Makira Weathercoast, a remote area with nutrition/food security/income/transport issues.
The social research methods used included ethnography, key informant interviews, informal focus group discussions, free listing, pile sorting, photography, market survey and literature review. In addition, rare high-carotenoid banana germplasm was collected and transferred to Fiji for tissue culture. Names of the sweet potato and banana varieties, as well as characteristics, beliefs, practices, and traditional knowledge, and factors relating to production, marketing, consumption, and acceptability, all of which impact on the potential for promoting these crops, were explored. Plans are underway to initiate similar efforts on other islands of Solomon Islands and in PNG (in Madang Province, where the population has been identified as having the highest risk of vitamin A deficiency in PNG) in collaboration with World Vision and NARI. Suitable promotional materials (including posters of high-carotenoid local foods) are being developed.
In addition to the survey and social marketing components of the program, imports of OFSP varieties with valuable traits from CIP Peru (via SPC, Fiji) and Indonesia (via QDPIF, Australia) are in progress. Once they clear quarantine, these imported varieties will be tested at several sites in Solomon Islands and PNG.
Health benefits of OFSP aside, the AusAID report "Solomon Islands Smallholder Agriculture Study (Vol 1)" recommended efforts to raise productivity of staple food crops in Solomon Islands to give a much needed boost to the economy. Increasing the appreciation of sweet potato and banana diversity is part of the larger ongoing effort that is needed.
APPENDICES
1. A report, "An exploratory study of banana and sweet potato varieties, including beliefs, practices, and potential for promotion: a collaborative project with communities on Makira Island, October 1-16, 2007" by Englberger et al.
2. Progress report for HarvestPlus, January 2008 by G Lyons
3. Results of 2007 OFSP beta-carotene survey.
4. ACIAR Newsletter article by Englberger et al.

The orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) program, funded by ACIAR and HarvestPlus, has built on a solid first-year foundation and shown pleasing progress in its second year, with developments that should provide human health benefits far into the future.
The screening phase of the project, which focused on Solomon Islands, is now complete, with a total of 77 orange- and yellow-fleshed sweet potato varieties analysed for tuber levels of the pro-vitamin A carotenoid, beta-carotene. In 2008, the HPLC analyses were improved with a reliable internal standard, and the survey list altered accordingly (Appendix 1). Eighteen local varieties exceeded 100 mg/kg beta-carotene (dry weight basis), with 7 of these over 200 mg/kg, an excellent level.
The most suitable Solomon Islands OFSP varieties identified in the survey (which met our criteria of high beta-carotene, high yield, pest resistance, acceptable flavour and texture) have been included in the Kastom Gaden Association (KGA)'s improved root crops program, with bulking and distribution occurring at several regional centres. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL), Kirakira, Makira are promoting the "Paul Iu" variety from Ulawa Island, which was found to have the highest beta-carotene level in the survey, 269 mg/kg DW.
In contrast to OFSP varieties themselves, local knowledge of their health benefits was scarce. An awareness program commenced in May 2007, and 22 nutrition workshops have now been conducted on Makira, Ulawa, Malaita (Solomon Islands) and around Lae, Morobe (PNG), with a total attendance of over 1,700 people. The renowned nutritionists/anthropologists/social scientists Dr Lois Englberger (Island Food Community, Pohnpei, Micronesia) and Dr Wendy Foley (University of Queensland) were instrumental in the success of this program, which has been expanded to include other local nutritious foods, including high-carotenoid bananas, legumes and leafy vegetables. Participants in both countries have appreciated the "Go Local" message, and the program has received solid media coverage (see Appendix 2 for an example). A special effort has been made to target communities with particular nutritional/food security problems, e.g. the underprivileged West Taraka community near Lae, PNG; North Malaita with its high population and increasing reliance on refined, processed foods; Star Harbour and the Makira Weathercoast with food security issues; and the Kwaio area of central Malaita, where protein and vitamin A deficiencies are evident.
Implementation by communities and individual farmers of this message has been facilitated by our major collaborators, KGA and the PNG National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), which are able to supply planting material of OFSPs and other nutritious crops to farmers, from regional seed gardens and research centres.
Drs Englberger and Lyons participated in a program organised by Maria Linibi, President of PNG Women in Agriculture and NARI, which focused on three "International Days": Rural Women, World Food Day and Eradication of Poverty, held at NARI Bubia in October 2008. Nutrition workshops were conducted in collaboration with NARI and the PNG Department of Health. Delegates from all over PNG were present.
The project leader presented reports at the ASEM/2003/010 Lessons Learned Workshop at Madang in May 2008 and at a workshop for the new AH/2007/106 project at Manokwari, West Papua in March 2009. Dr Foley gave an address, "Cultivar selection can have significant implications for our health" (including the experiences of our Solomons nutrition workshops) at the "Tropical Fruits in Human Nutrition and Health Conference 2008", November, Gold Coast, Queensland (Appendix 3).
In addition to identifying superior local OFSPs and spreading the nutrition/health message, the program imported several OFSP varieties with valuable traits from CIP Peru in late 2008, assisted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community's Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (SPC CePaCT), Fiji and MAL, Honiara. These are undergoing evaluation by KGA (Roselyn Kabu, with women's groups on Malaita and Santa Ysabel) and NARI (Elick Guaf at Bubia). The imports are also proving useful in the HORT/2005/134 program, which is conducting Farmer Field Schools on Guadalcanal, coordinated by Lawrence Atu.
Dr Rakesh Kapila, plant breeder at NARI Aiyura (Eastern Highlands), is evaluating the imported varieties for possible inclusion in an OFSP "polycross" program. The Beauregard variety, which was imported from Australia previously, is proving valuable in this breeding program.
A trip is planned later in 2009 to visit Morobe and Eastern Highlands (PNG), and Guadalcanal, Makira and Santa Ysabel (SI) to assess progress and conduct further workshops. Two local food promotional posters will be launched in Honiara, which were developed after wide consultation, and are now being printed in Suva. One features high-carotenoid bananas from Makira Island, and the other OFSPs, leafy vegetables and other nutrient-rich local foods of the Solomons, with text in English and Pidgin.