Mr Soane Patolo Jr

CEO – MORDI Tonga Trust, Adjunct Associate Professor, Researcher – Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research

Soane Patolo Jr. is Chief Executive Officer of the Mainstreaming of Rural Development Innovation (MORDI) Tonga Trust and an Adjunct Associate Professor (Rural Development) at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. With more than two decades of experience, he leads major rural development, climate resilience, and food systems programmes supported by the Governments of Australia and New Zealand, IFAD, GEF, and other development partners. He actively collaborates with ACIAR, the University of Melbourne, the University of the Sunshine Coast, and research institutions across New Zealand, Japan, and the Pacific. His work focuses on climate-smart agriculture, resilient food systems, and community-led development. He was awarded the Royal Order of the Crown of Tonga by His Majesty King Tupou VI in 2021 and the Lincoln University International Alumni Medal in 2023.

ABSTRACT

Community-Led Development: A Pacific Model for Regional Food Security and Climate Resilience

Food security is one of the defining development challenges facing the Indo-Pacific, driven by climate change, increasing dependence on imported food, declining rural labour, and the need to translate agricultural research into practical solutions for farming communities. While governments and development partners continue to invest in agricultural innovation, the question remains: how can these investments generate lasting, locally owned change?

Drawing on nearly two decades of experience leading Mainstreaming of Rural Development Innovation Tonga Trust (MORDI TT), this presentation demonstrates how IFAD’s investment through the Tonga Rural Innovation Project (TRIP) laid the foundation for one of the Pacific’s leading community-driven rural development organisations. Today, MORDI TT works with more than 122 rural communities, reaching over 39,000 people, and serves as a trusted bridge connecting communities, governments, researchers and development partners to transform research into practical development outcomes.

Using evidence from Community Development Plans, the Australia-funded Tonga Australia Resilient Communities Program, IFAD-supported TRIP, research partnerships with ACIAR and CSIRO, and community-led infrastructure and water security initiatives, the presentation demonstrates how locally led planning strengthens agricultural productivity, climate resilience, women’s leadership, local governance and food security.

Looking beyond Tonga, the presentation explores how this model can inform Australia’s engagement across the Indo-Pacific. It concludes with practical recommendations for governments, researchers and development partners, arguing that sustainable food security is achieved not simply by investing in agriculture, but by investing in communities that transform research into lasting local action.