The promises
- Under way
SAT$50 million more Development Bank lending, with loans repaid after harvest
Development Bank concessional lending rose from SAT$8 million to SAT$10 million, then SAT$15 million, a fraction of the SAT$50 million; the harvest-repayment terms are not shown and the loans went to 30 businesses, not village growers.
Cuts both waysRead more
- Promised
- FAST said on 29 August 2025 it would add SAT$50 million to the Development Bank of Samoa's lending capacity so farmers and microenterprises could get unsecured loans repaid after harvest 1. No deadline or interest rate was given 1.
- What happened
- The 2025/26 budget address of 6 October 2025 earmarked SAT$10 million through the Development Bank for manufacturing, commercial agriculture and tourism, plus SAT$6 million shared between the bank and the Samoa Business Hub 2; Parliament passed that budget without amendment on 28 October 2025 5. The 2026/27 budget address, published 27 May 2026, said SAT$13 million had reached 30 businesses, budgeted a SAT$15 million concessional facility for 2026/27, a SAT$5 million exporter facility and SAT$3 million through the Business Hub that reached 269 microbusinesses, with the Business Hub facility rising to SAT$5 million 3. For comparison, the 2024/25 budget address under the previous FAST government reported SAT$8 million of concessional Development Bank lending reaching 80 medium-sized businesses 4. Neither address says that loans are unsecured or repayable after harvest, or that the bank's capacity rose by SAT$50 million 23.
- Impact on families
- The published counts are 30 Development Bank borrowers and 269 Business Hub microbusinesses, with no farmer or fisher breakdown and no loan size per borrower 3. The Central Bank reported the annual average growth of commercial bank credit slowing to 2.5% at end April 2026 from 4.97% a year earlier, so lending overall was not expanding fast 11. No measured impact published yet; a Development Bank report listing agricultural loans, their terms and repayments would show it.
- Cost
- SAT$50m of lending capital, about 4.7% of 2025/26 government revenue; a revolving fund if loans are repaid. Funded so far: SAT$10m then SAT$15m, shared across three sectors.
- Verdict for families
- Cuts both ways
- Can it be done?
- A stretch
- Long term
- Mixed long term
- Who deserves the credit
-
Shared credit
Concessional Development Bank lending existed before this government: the 2024/25 budget address under Fiamē reported SAT$8 million reaching 80 medium-sized businesses, the bank had lent to farmers under the World Bank-funded SACEP project, and former Finance Minister Lautimuia Uelese Va'ai called the budget tabled in October 2025 "the very same budget" he had planned to present. 4812 This government's own additions are the larger facilities, SAT$10 million then SAT$15 million, the SAT$5 million exporter facility and the Business Hub line; the unsecured harvest-repaid loans it promised have not been set up, so what has been delivered is an inherited scheme made bigger, not a new one. 23
- Who gains
- So far, 30 businesses that shared SAT$13 million and 269 microbusinesses that shared SAT$3 million; village growers promised unsecured harvest loans have no published scheme to apply to 3.
- Who pays
- Taxpayers, through the Development Bank, if arrears repeat SACEP's 21%, and smallholders without collateral, who stay shut out while the promised terms are not offered 86.
- Assessment
- SAT$50 million of extra lending capital is about 4.7% of 2025/26 revenue of SAT$1,056.4 million; the facilities funded so far rose from SAT$8 million in 2024/25, a line the previous government already ran, to SAT$10 million and then SAT$15 million, a fraction of the promise 10423. Unsecured loans repaid after harvest would reach the farming families PHAMA Plus describes, agriculture involving over 70% of households while contributing less than 10% of GDP, and the IMF notes that small firms still face financing constraints from limited collateral and incomplete records, which such terms would address 96. The risk is repayment: 21% of farmers who took Development Bank loans under the earlier SACEP project were in arrears at closure, and the IMF asked for close monitoring of rapid lending by public financial institutions 87. A revolving fund costs the budget little if loans are repaid, but what has been delivered so far is ordinary business lending to 30 firms, not the unsecured village-grower loans promised, and unsecured lending at scale could leave the public bank with losses that taxpayers cover.
Sources (12)
- Laaulialemalietoa Secures his Seat with Ease as FAST Numbers Start to Stack Up
- Minister of Finance Tables $1.24bn Talā Peoples Budget
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Budget Address 2024/2025
- New Government Settles in with its $1.24Bn Budget Passed
- 2026 Article IV Consultation for Samoa: IMF Staff Concluding Statement
- IMF Executive Board Concludes 2026 Article IV Consultation with Samoa
- Implementation Completion and Results Report: Samoa Agriculture Competitiveness Enhancement Project
- Samoan Taro: PHAMA Plus Performance Story
- Government Finance Statistics, June 2026 Quarter
- Monetary Policy Statement for the Financial Year 2026/2027
- FAST Government Adopts Key Policies from Previous Budget
- No sign yet
SAT$50 million for commercial farmers producing for export
No SAT$50 million fund for export farmers exists; what runs is a smaller facility shared with manufacturing and tourism, an exporter facility and taro buying, while exports keep falling.
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- Promised
- On 29 August 2025 FAST leader La'auli said the party would invest SAT$50 million in commercial farmers producing for export 1. No deadline, lending terms or crop targets were reported 1.
- What happened
- No budget line for a SAT$50 million export-farmer fund has appeared 23. Instead, the 2025/26 budget address of 6 October 2025 earmarked SAT$10 million through the Development Bank of Samoa for manufacturing, commercial agriculture and tourism together, plus SAT$6 million shared between the bank and the Samoa Business Hub for smaller enterprises 2. The 2026/27 budget address, published 27 May 2026, said SAT$13 million had gone through the Development Bank to 30 businesses across export, manufacturing, commercial agriculture and tourism, budgeted a SAT$15 million shared concessional facility for 2026/27, raised the exporter facility from SAT$3 million to SAT$5 million, gave the Samoa Export Authority SAT$1,484,846 and said First Harvest had been revived 3. On 21 February 2026 the Export Authority bought taro at Salelologa for freezing at the Atele packhouse, which opened that month; the release gives no grower count, tonnage or price 4. The shared facility is counted under FAST's Development Bank lending promise, not here 3.
- Impact on families
- The budget addresses do not say how many of the 30 borrowers were farmers or what each received 3. The Central Bank reported domestically produced exports SAT$6.0 million lower in the first ten months of 2025/26 than a year earlier, including SAT$3.5 million less coconut oil and falls in taro and nonu juice 5. Agricultural real value added was SAT$37.9 million in the March 2026 quarter, 4.3% below the March 2025 quarter 7. PHAMA Plus records taro exports falling from almost 3,000 tonnes in 2017 to about 796 tonnes in 2024 and, at end 2025, local taro at about SAT$9 a kilogram against SAT$5.50 to SAT$6 for export, so growers earn more selling at home 6. No measured impact published yet; Export Authority purchase volumes and payouts, a farmer count for the Development Bank loans and export tonnage would show it.
- Cost
- SAT$50m, timing not stated; about 4.7% of 2025/26 government revenue. Funded so far: a share of a SAT$10m, then SAT$15m, facility split with manufacturing and tourism.
- Verdict for families
- Cuts both ways
- Can it be done?
- A stretch
- Long term
- Mixed long term
- Who gains
- Commercial export businesses: 30 borrowers shared SAT$13 million of Development Bank lending by May 2026, with no count of farmers among them and nothing published for village growers 3.
- Who pays
- Taxpayers carry the Development Bank's losses if borrowers default, as 21% of its SACEP farmer borrowers were in arrears at closure, and small growers who sell at home get nothing from an export-only fund 106.
- Assessment
- SAT$50 million is about 4.7% of 2025/26 government revenue of SAT$1,056.4 million, and the government has so far chosen a SAT$15 million facility shared with two other sectors, so the promised scale is not in prospect this term 93. Calendar-year taro exports fell from SAT$7.2 million in 2021 to SAT$1.8 million in 2025 and coconut-oil exports from SAT$11.3 million to SAT$5.2 million, and PHAMA Plus found local taro fetches more than export taro, so credit alone does not make exporting pay 86. The IMF asked for close monitoring of rapid lending by public financial institutions 11. Under the earlier World Bank-funded SACEP project, 21% of the farmers who took Development Bank loans were in arrears at closure; commercial exporters rather than village growers would hold these loans, so the gain for ordinary families is indirect and the credit risk sits with the public bank 10.
Sources (11)
- Laaulialemalietoa Secures his Seat with Ease as FAST Numbers Start to Stack Up
- Minister of Finance Tables $1.24bn Talā Peoples Budget
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Government Help Farmers Sustain Taro Exports
- Monetary Policy Statement for the Financial Year 2026/2027
- Samoan Taro: PHAMA Plus Performance Story
- Gross Domestic Product, March 2026 Quarter
- Statistical Abstract 2025
- Government Finance Statistics, June 2026 Quarter
- Implementation Completion and Results Report: Samoa Agriculture Competitiveness Enhancement Project
- IMF Executive Board Concludes 2026 Article IV Consultation with Samoa
- No sign yet
SAT$50 million for manufacturing to replace imports
No SAT$50 million manufacturing fund exists; manufacturing only shares a SAT$10 million, then SAT$15 million, multi-sector facility, and no import fall is shown.
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- Promised
- FAST said it would invest SAT$50 million in manufacturing to replace some imports, reported on 29 August and 3 September 2025 110. No products, deadline or lending terms were given 1.
- What happened
- No separate SAT$50 million manufacturing allocation appears in either budget 23. Instead, the 2025/26 budget address of 6 October 2025 put manufacturing inside a SAT$10 million Development Bank of Samoa facility shared with commercial agriculture and tourism 2. The 2026/27 budget address, published 27 May 2026, reported SAT$13 million lent to 30 businesses across those sectors and budgeted a SAT$15 million concessional facility for 2026/27, again shared with agriculture and tourism 3. The shared facility is counted under FAST's Development Bank lending promise, not here 3.
- Impact on families
- The government's count of 30 borrowers is not split by sector, so the number of manufacturers helped is unknown 3. The Central Bank estimated 2025/26 goods imports at SAT$1,242.9 million against exports of SAT$73.1 million; this is the national total, not a measure of the promise 4. Real output of manufacturing other than food and drink fell 2.6% in the June 2026 quarter against a year earlier, while food and drink manufacturing rose 1.6% 5. No measured impact published yet; a list of funded manufacturers and the import lines they replace would show it.
- Cost
- SAT$50m, timing not stated; about 4.7% of 2025/26 government revenue. Funded so far: a share of a SAT$10m, then SAT$15m, facility split with agriculture and tourism.
- Verdict for families
- Cuts both ways
- Can it be done?
- A stretch
- Long term
- Too early to tell
- Who gains
- Established manufacturing firms able to borrow: the 30 Development Bank borrowers by May 2026 are businesses, not households, and the government has not said how many were manufacturers or how many jobs followed 3.
- Who pays
- Taxpayers stand behind the public bank's lending, which the IMF asked to be monitored closely, while families as consumers gain only if the goods are cheaper than the imports they replace 94.
- Assessment
- SAT$50 million is about 4.7% of 2025/26 revenue of SAT$1,056.4 million; the government has instead budgeted SAT$15 million shared across three sectors, so delivery at the promised size is not in prospect 83. Goods imports of SAT$1,242.9 million against exports of SAT$73.1 million in 2025/26 show the gap import replacement would have to close, and output of manufacturing other than food and drink fell 2.6% in the June 2026 quarter 45. Manufacturers told a July 2026 consultation that imported inputs, electricity, fuel, freight and skills are their pressures, and the 2024 sector plan says manufacturing was still recovering from the closure of Yazaki, only slowly offset by Fero Samoa and Sleepwell International 67. Cheap credit does not lower those costs, and goods made for a small home market can cost families more than imports unless the firms are efficient, so the long-term effect is unclear; the IMF also asked for close monitoring of rapid lending by public financial institutions 9.
Sources (10)
- Landslide Win for Laaulialemalietoa as FAST looks Certain to be Samoa’s next Government
- Minister of Finance Tables $1.24bn Talā Peoples Budget
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Monetary Policy Statement for the Financial Year 2026/2027
- Gross Domestic Product, June 2026 Quarter
- Private Sector Highlights Key Constraints and Opportunities for Sustainable Economic Development in Samoa
- Trade, Commerce and Manufacturing Sector Plan 2024/25 – 2028/29
- Government Finance Statistics, June 2026 Quarter
- IMF Executive Board Concludes 2026 Article IV Consultation with Samoa
- Laaulialemalietoa Secures his Seat with Ease as FAST Numbers Start to Stack Up
- No sign yet
A poultry farm to cut imported chicken
By October 2026 the only published step was a district tour of an existing private processor and talk of possible district farms supplying it; no cost, site or plan exists.
Cuts both waysRead more
- Promised
- FAST said it would establish a poultry farm to reduce dependence on imported chicken, reported on 29 August and 3 September 2025 13. No cost, site or date was given 1.
- What happened
- On 2 October 2026 representatives of 51 district centres toured the existing, privately run Sunshine Pacific Farm and discussed possible district poultry farms supplying it 2. No government farm, construction contract or cost has been published 2.
- Impact on families
- No chickens have been produced under the promise, so there is no change in chicken prices or imports to measure 2. No measured impact published yet; a built farm with output figures and import data would show it.
- Cost
- Not costed; no government figure.
- Verdict for families
- Cuts both ways
- Can it be done?
- A stretch
- Long term
- Too early to tell
- Who gains
- If district farms go ahead, the private processor they would supply gains a guaranteed source of birds; what district growers would be paid has not been published 2.
- Who pays
- Nobody yet, since nothing is funded; if a public farm were built without a published cost, taxpayers would carry any loss 2.
- Assessment
- No cost, site or operator has been published, and the only step by October 2026 was a tour of an existing private farm and talk of district farms supplying it 2. A farm that cuts chicken imports could lower the price of a staple and give village growers an outlet, which would help ordinary families; but the model discussed has districts rearing birds for one private processor, so the margin may sit with the processor, and a farm that runs at a loss would be carried by the budget. Until a plan with numbers exists, the effect on families cannot be judged.
Sources (3)
- Landslide Win for Laaulialemalietoa as FAST looks Certain to be Samoa’s next Government
- PACNEWS THREE, 02 OCTOBER 2026
- Laaulialemalietoa Secures his Seat with Ease as FAST Numbers Start to Stack Up
Projects in this area
- Delivered with problems
Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity and Marketing Project (SAFPROM)
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- What it is
- SAFPROM closed on 30 June 2025 having reached 9,130 farmers and fishers, above target, but producer sales fell short of the goal. 1
- Planning
- Approved on 2 July 2019 before FAST took office. The World Bank's completion report records 175 procurement packages created and 43 cancelled, plus matching grants. 1
- Result
- Average producer sales were US$3,404 against a US$4,800 target. Sheep, some seafood-export measures and women's participation also fell short, and many farmers had not received their final grant payment by the second half of 2024. The World Bank rated the outcome moderately satisfactory. 1 With US$15.92m disbursed for 9,130 direct beneficiaries the project cost about US$1,744 per beneficiary, and individual grants averaged US$4,981; that is our arithmetic from the report. 1 The project was approved in 2019 under HRPP, run mostly under Fiamē's government and paid by the World Bank and IFAD; the Savai'i headquarters, Atele packhouse and mobile slaughter unit it started were finished after closure, with the government paying US$1.55m of remaining contract costs from its own funds. 1 Farmers and fishers who got grants gained equipment and yields; the market access that would turn yields into income did not follow. 1
- Cost
- US$15.92m disbursed (World Bank); no tala figure published
- Funded by
- World Bank and IFAD; approved 2019 under HRPP
- Visibility
- The World Bank published a detailed independent completion report on 26 March 2026 covering successes, missed targets and procurement issues. 1
Sources (1)
- Implementation Completion and Results Report (IDA-D4380) on a Grant to the Independent State of Samoa for Samoa Agriculture & Fisheries Productivity and Marketing Project (SAFPROM)
- Delivered with problems
MAF Savai'i headquarters and Atele packhouse
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- What it is
- Both buildings were awarded in November 2024 and finished in 2025, after the donor project closed on 30 June 2025, so the government paid the balance. 12
- Planning
- Schwarz Construction won the office (SAT$5,325,206.79, 7 November 2024) and King Construction the packhouse (SAT$4,422,900, 28 November 2024); the Ministry of Finance listed the other bidders. The office was built new after rehabilitating the old one was found unsafe. 12
- Result
- Both buildings were completed in 2025. The packhouse opened in February 2026 and the Samoa Export Authority used it to clean, pack and freeze taro bought at Salelologa, with no published volumes or prices paid to growers. 23 Fresh-produce exports fell 80% in the June 2026 quarter against a year earlier, so the SAT$4.4m packhouse is so far handling a shrinking trade. 4 Both buildings came from the World Bank's SAFPROM project, were contracted under Fiamē's government and finished after the donor closed; the government paid US$1.55m of remaining contract costs for the two buildings and a mobile slaughter unit together, and the report does not split that by building. The current government opened the packhouse and reports it as its own. 123 Schwarz Construction and King Construction were awarded SAT$9.75m between them; growers gain only if the packhouse buys and ships their taro at a fair price, and running costs now sit with the ministry and the authority. 13
- Cost
- SAT$5.33m office award; SAT$4.42m packhouse award
- Funded by
- SAFPROM (World Bank and IFAD), with government paying post-closure costs
- Visibility
- Awards and the World Bank completion report are public. The US$1.55m the government paid after closure is not split by building. 12
Sources (4)
- Tender Awards | MOF Samoa
- Implementation Completion and Results Report (IDA-D4380) on a Grant to the Independent State of Samoa for Samoa Agriculture & Fisheries Productivity and Marketing Project (SAFPROM)
- Government Help Farmers Sustain Taro Exports
- GDP Report, June 2026 Quarter
- No visible progress
Government or district poultry farm
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- What it is
- A government poultry farm to cut dependence on imported chicken was promised in August 2025; by October 2026 the only reported activity was a district tour of an existing private farm. 12
- Planning
- The Prime Minister invited representatives of the 51 districts to tour the privately operated Sunshine Pacific Farm and consider raising chickens to supply it. No government farm award or financing has been published. 2
- Result
- No new farm has been built and no fall in imports has been reported. 2 This is the current government's own promise: during the 2025 campaign Laʻauli said Samoa imports 60 to 70 containers of chicken a month and "we are going to set up our own poultry farm". 1 Families pay for imported chicken meanwhile; the one named beneficiary of the district tour was the private Sunshine Pacific Farm, which districts were invited to supply. 2
- Cost
- not published
- Funded by
- Not published
- Visibility
- The promise and the tour were reported. No investment contract or results have been published. 12
Sources (2)
- Laaulialemalietoa Secures his Seat with Ease as FAST Numbers Start to Stack Up - Samoa Global News
- PACNEWS THREE, 02 OCTOBER 2026 - Islands Business
What FAST did in 2021 to 2025
- 2021 to 2025Unclear
The 2024/25 budget address of 28 May 2024, under the previous FAST government, put the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries at SAT$20,434,017, the District Development Program at SAT$51 million with agriculture and fisheries initiatives making up 53.4% of the programme since 2022/23, and SAT$8 million of concessional Development Bank lending reaching 80 medium-sized businesses across sectors 1.
Sources (1)
- Budget Address 2024/2025
- 30 June 2025Unclear
SAFPROM closed with 9,130 direct beneficiaries, including 3,423 women, 965 individual grants averaging US$4,981, 27 grants to small and medium enterprises or producer associations and 41 to common-interest groups in Savai'i 1. Beneficiary taro yields reached 7.47 tonnes an acre, but average annual sales were US$3,404 against a US$4,800 target, 210 cattle went to hygienic slaughter against a revised 500 target, 63 fishers got individual support, 11 fish-aggregating devices were deployed and 35 more were still waiting at closure 1. The World Bank rated it moderately satisfactory and said the grant payment system was significantly delayed 1.
Sources (1)
- Implementation Completion and Results Report: Samoa Agriculture & Fisheries Productivity and Marketing Project (SAFPROM)
- 2024 to 2025Unclear
Taro exports fell from almost 3,000 tonnes in 2017 to about 796 tonnes in 2024; PHAMA Plus's 2024 nursery programme supplied more than 700,000 planting materials to more than 200 supplier farmers 1. Samoa's 7 July 2026 report to the tuna commission recorded 82 domestic vessel licences in 2025, up from 74, but longline catch of primary species fell from 585.4 to 280.9 tonnes and commercial tuna exports were zero in 2025 against 783 tonnes in 2024, with fish sold locally instead 2. The statistics office still recorded SAT$236,000 of fish exports in 2025 3.
Sources (3)
- Samoan Taro: PHAMA Plus Performance Story
- Samoa 2025 Annual Report to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, Part 1: Information on Fisheries, Research and Statistics
- Statistical Abstract 2025