Strengthening access to organic markets in the Pacific: the case of Kokonut Pacific Solomon Islands

Under the Fit For Market Plus (FFM+) programme, the COLEAD continues its commitment to strengthening the capacities of agri-food SMEs and supporting their sustainable access to international markets. In 2025, the COLEAD notably supported Kokonut Pacific Solomon Islands Ltd (KPSI) through a pre-audit of the National Organic Program (NOP), followed by certification support. This assistance builds on earlier engagement, in particular through the completion of the Sustainability Self-Assessment (SAS). This diagnostic highlighted numerous strong sustainability practices, while also identifying areas for improvement to further strengthen the company’s compliance with international organic market requirements.

Founded in 2004, KPSI is a social enterprise operating across nine provinces of the Solomon Islands. It works with more than 60 village communities and over 1,200 smallholder farmers engaged in coconut and cocoa value chains. Its model is based on guaranteed prices for producers, continuous technical support, decentralised village-level processing, and central filtration in Honiara. In 2024, KPSI produced 85 tonnes of coconut and 43 tonnes of cocoa, mainly for the Australian, US and New Zealand markets. The company already holds organic, Fair Trade and HACCP certifications and employs 35 staff members, 50% of whom are women, including in management positions.

The NOP pre-audit, conducted between August and September 2025 by Paradais Review Services (Papua New Guinea), assessed KPSI’s entire compliance system, including its internal control system, human capacities, infrastructure, traceability, risk management and critical control points throughout the value chain. The audit covered 405 producers, 12 decentralised processing units and two central warehouses, confirming a strong level of operational control.

Following the mission, a pragmatic and costed corrective action plan was developed to prepare KPSI for a successful NOP certification audit and to sustainably strengthen market confidence in its organic products.

This activity is supported by the Fit For Market Plus (FFM+) programme, implemented by COLEAD within the Framework of Development Cooperation between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union. This publication receives financial support from the European Union and the OACPS. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of COLEAD and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union or the OACPS.