Agriculture

The Government of Fiji hosted the Seventh Regional Meeting of the Pacific Heads of Agriculture and Forestry Services (PHOAFS), held virtually from 25 – 27 August with partners the Pacific Community (SPC), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Fiji Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry.  

The participants are from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Vanuatu and the Pacific Community (SPC).

The exchange is supported by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), the Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and SPC through the European Union supported Agriculture Policy Project (PAPP).

Meanwhile, the amount of arable land is decreasing, and farmers face mounting challenges.

Climate Corporation aims to take the guesswork out of issues like weather and crop disease. The 10-year-old company offers a slate of "digital agriculture" tools that provide a real-time, Facebook-esque feed about what's happening on a farm at every moment.

The team leader of SPC's Pacific agriculture policy project, Vili Caniogo, says more than 80 percent of the region's population live in rural areas but this is not reflected in government policies.

A small but energetic team of agriculture and food production stakeholders and entrepreneurs from the Pacific are currently in the Caribbean region this week exchanging ideas with their Caribbean colleagues with the hope of bringing back home valuable ideas.                                                   

Some 250 leaders, decision-makers and agrifood actors will be gathering for the first Caribbean and Pacific Agrifood Forum. A key event for both regions, the forum will be held from November 2 to 6, an action-packed week devoted to exploring how an agribusiness approach can drive rural development in small island states.