Miselete Satuala is a mother of five children, a kava farmer, and co-owner of Satuala Development, a business that grows and exports kava.
Kava is made from the root of the kava shrub. Traditionally, Pacific Islanders crushed or ground the root, then soaked it in cold water to produce a drink for ceremonies and cultural practices.
According to Samoa's latest agricultural census, there are about 1200 kava farmers in Samoa, and most only produce enough to meet local consumption needs. The Samoa Agribusiness Support Project, supported by ADB and the Government of Australia, is helping to boost the Pacific Island nation's economic performance by addressing constraints to trade and export. It helps commercial partner agribusinesses to grow sustainably, and works with participating commercial banks to provide suitable financing to them.
In an interview, Miselete Satuala discussed how the project is helping pave her way to becoming Samoa's biggest kava exporter.
What is your business?
With my husband Ropati, we run a kava (in Samoa, we call it 'ava') and taro business on Western Samoa's second biggest island, Savai'i. We have about 12,000 ava and 300,000 taro plants on a 60-acre farm. We inter-crop these plants, meaning we plant taro and ava together, so when you harvest one, the other is still growing. It takes about 4 years to harvest ava. It's a family business. My husband, father-in-law, and a group of about 20 boys manage the farm, including the daily planting and harvesting. My main role in the business is managing the finances. I also help with marketing. I enjoy updating our social media and sharing news about the developments on the farm.
How did you become involved with Samoa Agribusiness Support Project?
Satuala Development entered the project in 2019. Through it, we got a loan from the Bank of the South Pacific, which helped us purchase vehicle that was much-needed at the time. Part of the money was also used to pay the salaries of boys who worked on the farm. The project couldn't have come at a better time as we were looking to expand our farm and needed financial backup given that the ava plants were still young and the taro was not yet ready for harvesting.
What other benefits you have gained through the project?
The impact of this project on our business has been immense. It changed financial institutions' mindset, especially commercial banks, towards the agriculture sector. They now seem more favorable towards agribusinesses like ours, and are happy to provide credit. The project facilitated good liaison between the banks and us. It has also given our business good exposure locally and nationally through high-level government visits to our farm. In addition, the project provided us with business support services, like financial management and technical support, as well as assistance in developing business plans and providing guidance to secure commercial finance.
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Ensuring stable and affordable food supplies is central to keeping millions out of extreme poverty.
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Infrastructure and business financing play a vital role in the shift to sustainable economies across Asia and the Pacific.
Did the COVID-19 pandemic present extra challenges?
During COVID-19, the biggest challenge for us was the rising cost of shipping the ava overseas. We could still send our shipments through, but it was very expensive. Hopefully, it will become less so in the future.
What is the appeal of the ava that you grow?
I don't drink ava, but our clients say our ava is very different from the stronger Fijian and Vanuatu ava. They say our ava has a much lighter, almost milky taste.
What does the future hold for your business?
In Samoa, ava is grown for the local market for local consumption. Our business is different because we grow our ava for export. When we began our business, we set out to be Samoa's biggest ava supplier and are well-placed to achieve that goal. We have been sending 6 shipments yearly to the United States since 2019, and our market there has been expanding. We are hopeful our future looks bright!
