Innovative soil improvement training for increasing Jiwaka semi-subsistence farmers sweet potato production: Lessons for application and sustainability

• Agricultural extension rarely reaches those in remote areas and those with little formal education. Extension must support farmers with ways to enable increased production and use the income for sustainable family livelihoods.
• Improved farmer learning, application and transfer of soil improvement skills can contribute to increased productivity, income and enhance livelihoods.
• Increased markets for kaukau (sweet potato) are an opportunity for farmers to increase production and improve livelihoods.
• Semi-subsistence farming families can be supported to reconfigure farming livelihoods to support change to more equitable and effective farm management.
• Practical and experiential learning helps farmers with little formal education to immediately apply new learning to their farming and build this learning into their existing knowledge and farming systems.
• Partnerships between agricultural agencies and community-based organisations can provide initial low-cost training to farming families who then can share this further through farmer-to-farmer peer learning, making this, cost-effective and sustainable in the long term.