Pacific and Pasifika Theses

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/4764

The theses listed in this collection were all completed at Massey University in a range of different departments and institutes. They have been included in this collection if the topic is strongly related to Pasifika/the Pacific.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Malaita province, Solomon Islands

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    Decentralisation and central-local relations : a Solomon Islands case study on the negotiations of relations between national and provincial governments : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Suluia, Gloria Tapakea
    The literature on decentralisation and development emphasises the prominent role played by representatives of central government and representatives of local government in the negotiations of central-local relations. This thesis seeks to investigate this argument by examining the institutional framework between national and provincial governments and the negotiations taking place within a decentralised framework in the Solomon Islands context, focusing on government officials’ experiences. Drawing from a case study in the Malaita Province, the most important institutions and procedures for negotiating relations between the national and provincial governments are explored and the extent to which government officials utilise these structures. Furthermore, government officials shared their assessment of the most important institutions dealing with the negotiation of central-local relations. This was important to understand how decentralisation has affected central-local relations. This study which adopted a qualitative case study approach found that two institutions were established by the national government to undertake negotiations between the national and provincial governments within a decentralised framework. While these institutions do exist in theory, in practice they have not been fully utilised by national government officials, which undermined their ability to fulfil their mandate. Furthermore, the absence of policies and clear guidelines on the conduct of central-local relations means that national officials are not obliged to utilise these institutions, and can use or create alternative platforms such as sectoral mechanisms. Provincial officials, however, do not have this opportunity. This study also found that in the Solomon Islands context, the Ministry of Provincial Government and the Premiers’ Conference, as the institutional channels for negotiating central-local relation are not effective due to their limited institutional capacities. Overall, this thesis concludes that within the context of the provincial government system in the Solomon Islands, the decentralisation policies introduced since the 1980s have had minimal impact in enhancing the relation between the national and provincial governments. In this respect, the establishment of institutions resulting from decentralisation are not the only platforms for encouraging cooperation and collaboration between the national and provincial governments. While the existence of these institutions benefited government officials by providing them with platforms to carry out negotiations between the two different levels of government, their limited utilisation by national officials is contradictory to the initial purposes of decentralisation policy, which is to foster a relation between national provincial and local politicians where they can work together for the people they represent.
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    Factors affecting rice adoption in the Solomon Islands : a case study of Fiu village, central Kwara'ae constituency, Malaita province : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agri-Commerce at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2012) Baete, Simon
    In 2006, the Solomon Islands (SI) Government implemented the National Rural Rice Development Programme (NRRDP) through the Rice Section of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, aimed at promoting the adoption of rice growing by SI farmers. However, the low level of rice adoption raised questions relating to the successful implementation of this programme. To investigate the factors that have contributed to farmers‘ decision to adopt or not to adopt the rice technology, a single case study was used involving farmers of Fiu village, in Malaita Province. Data was collected between June and July 2010 through semi-structured interviews with selected farmers who adopted the rice technology including those that did not; FCRP leaders; and government officers (extension and the rice official). The findings of this study revealed that several factors influenced the adoption decisions of farmers and these were the characteristics of technology, internal factors, and external factors. The characteristic of the technology that influenced farmers‘ decision to adopt is relative advantage.The internal factors include personal characteristics of the farmer such as previous experience, proximity of the farm, land free of dispute, availability of a water source and cultural factors whereas external factors identified include government policy, infrastructure development in the area, agro-climatic condition, access to extension service and market. It was found that in late 2010, the adopters discontinued the use of the technology and their decisions were mainly influenced by factors such as poor leadership, poor implementation of the rice policy, and poor extension service. The results also revealed that many farmers did not adopt the rice technology in 2007 and their decisions were influenced by factors such as: relative disadvantage, complexity and incompatibility of the technology, input and labour intensive, land using, and risk. The study also shows that observability, poor leadership and the government‘s failure to implement the rice policy post 2007 influenced the non-adopters decision to continue with the non-adoption of the technology. This research suggests that for a community rice project such as the FCRP to be successful, the government should facilitate the availability of funds to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to ensure that the ministry is able to provide the necessary support to the farmers thus promoting their confidence in government‘s ability to support the implementation of the project. In addition, the selection of leaders who have the right skills, knowledge, and attitudes to manage and drive the project was integral in ensuring the success of the project.