Growing Solutions That Can Continue: JICA Volunteer Masaru Hara Completes Two Years in Eastern Highlands

After two years of working alongside local agriculture officers and farmers, JICA Volunteer Mr. Masaru Hara has completed his assignment with the Eastern Highlands Provincial Division of Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries (DALF). Mr. Hara, a volunteer specializing in vegetable production, served from August 2024 to August 2026. Throughout his assignment, he focused on a simple but important question: How can farmers improve agricultural production using methods that are affordable, practical, and sustainable in their local context?

Many smallholder farmers in Eastern Highlands rely on limited cash income, making it difficult to regularly purchase fertilizers and pesticides. Soil surveys conducted together with university students in six areas around Goroka also revealed that some farmland suffered from low soil nutrient levels.

To address these challenges, Hara and his counterparts explored the use of green manure, an agricultural practice that improves soil fertility by growing specific plants and incorporating them back into the soil. Several species were first tested on a small scale at the DALF office. Among them, Crotalaria performed particularly well, producing seeds within approximately four months.

Reaching rural farmers is not always easy. Long distances and limited fuel availability can make regular field visits challenging. With this in mind, Hara worked closely with DALF officers and respected farmer leaders who could test new techniques on their own farms and share their experiences within their communities.
One of the clearest signs of progress emerged during farmer training sessions.

At the beginning of the project, Hara was the one explaining soil management and the benefits of green manure. About a year later, DALF officers were delivering the training themselves.

Throughout his assignment, Hara carefully documented soil survey results, trial findings, and training materials so that the knowledge could remain within DALF after his departure. By the end of the project, green manure trials were being managed not only at DALF demonstration sites but also by farmer leaders on their own farms and within their communities.
The Crotalaria seeds left behind in Eastern Highlands may be small, but they symbolize something much larger: a farming practice that local officers and farmers can continue to adapt, improve, and share long after the volunteer's departure.