Plantation Russet Du Vanuatu Limited

Vanuatu is a cluster of 83 tropical islands in the Pacific Ocean, 1800 km north east of Australia. Over 80% of the population are engaged in agriculture. In 2012, Vanuatu reported 2664 hectares of organic agriculture but this is set to double. Australia’s leading organic certifier, Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA), reports that Vanuatu’s largest coconut grove, the 1550 hectare Plantation Russet du Vanuatu is converting to organic. Also in conversion to organic is the community grower group, Sanma Community Coconuts, with its 216 growers and 408 hectares. According to BFA: “In Vanuatu coconuts are generally already grown organically with no synthetic fertilisers because the soil is very fertile; however organic certification will require farmers to keep more records of farm practices”.