The Samoan discussion group set up by Samoa's environmental NGO, "O le
Siosiomaga Society Inc." (OLSSI) has been following with great interest the
discussions. The group is composed of staff and members of OLSSI but also
members of the public who have responded to our advertisement in the
newspaper about the Internet conference.

Thanks to the grant from the Research Institute for Subtropics, Japan, we
are photocopying the papers and e-mail messages and distributing these
among the members of the group. We hope to make some contribution of value
to the Conference.

For your information, OLSSI has been working mainly in the field of
rainforest conservation but recently has taken an interest in promoting the
various aspects of sustainable agriculture. OLSSI's Board of Directors
recently approved for the Society to take on an advocacy role to promote
Integrated Biosystems in Agriculture. In line with this development we are
now negotiating with a College, close to Apia, the capital of Samoa, to set
up an integrated system similar to the one discussed in Dr Ajuyah's paper,
and for which a demonstration site exists in Fiji (Montfort Boys' Town near
Suva).

As eloquently pointed out in Dr Rodriguez, Preston and Nguyen's paper,
successful local alternatives for protein supplements for animal feeds are
the key to animal production systems that the average subsistence farmer in
the tropics can afford. In collaboration with some researchers at the
University of the South Pacific and inspired by Dr Horst Doelle's lectures
at a UNESCO seminar on Biotechnology in Agriculture (held in Apia, last
year), our Society is now supporting a research project that will
investigate the feasibility of using "enhanced" cassava as protein
supplement for -initially- pig feed. The project intends to use a
solid-state fermentation process already operational as a cottage industry
for the production of "tempeh" (soya steak) in Indonesia.

Hopefully, in future IBS Internet conferences, we will be able to share
with the participants the results of our investigations.

Kind regards,
WALTER VERMEULEN
DIRECTOR
OLSSI
P.O.Box 5774-MATAUTU-APIA-SAMOA
TEL/FAX (685) 21993
e-MAIL: ngo_siosiomaga@samoa.net