Mr. Jackson Mark and Ms. Rose Nol who live in the Chuave District of the Chimbu Province have been trailing bulb onions and potatoes in their gardens in their village. Speaking on behalf of his wife, Mr. Jackson Mark, who has a background in agriculture from the University of Technology, ran through an explanation of their backyard garden project. “Our first and most important objective, is to help stop the mentality of waiting for free handouts. We have so much land and potential to develop the land and help ourselves.” Mr. Jackson said communities need to do away with sitting around and gambling and they hope that by setting an example of utilizing their land for farming will show people that you can toil the soil for a more honest income. “Our second objective was to come up with an alternative source of income to support and sustain ourselves.” Despite this being just a trial project, Mr. Jackson and his wife, have big plans for the future. “It is going to take some time, but we plan produce enough to meet the market demand.” In the short-term though, the rural farmers are hoping to put in a place a workable production plan that will see them produce enough bulb onions and potatoes to sell to lead farmers, who then sell to bulk buyers. Nevertheless, these rural farmers from Chimbu, have already harvested a sizeable quantity of bulb onions from their backyard, which they are now air drying in their house cook; a process that is required to meet the market standard. They are now seeking assistance by way of a solar drier, to make the abovementioned process more efficient and effective. “The solar drier will help us cure the onions we grow faster and will assist in ensuring quality control.” In relaying their story, Mr. Jackson also admitted that their needs to be more assistance for rural farmers like himself and his wife, from donor agencies and the government alike, to encourage more development in agriculture in the rural areas. “The bulk of us are mostly farmers… but we need pathways,” Mr. Jackson said, explaining that their main challenge is finding a suitable and profitable market for their produce. “Once you create these pathways, it enables market access and encourages more people in the rural areas to get into farming.” Mr. Jackson believes these developments in agriculture in the rural areas, will also counter increasing law and order problems as well provide a holistic approach to improving the livelihood of the people.