The active participation of farmers in the local value chain in supplying consistent quality fresh produce to meet the demands of the market and address Fiji’s food security has received plaudits.

In acknowledging the immense contribution of farmers in securing Fiji’s food security while addressing farmers of Navosa yesterday, Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment Hon. Dr Mahendra Reddy paid tribute to them for their dedication.

Minister Reddy also applauded farmers’ support during the COVID-19 pandemic and for being instrumental players in returning the economy to normalcy in a short period of time.

“As you know, Fiji’s agriculture sector is quite resilient, our agriculture sector has been growing and there is no doubt about it and if you look at the food security issue, Fiji has done extremely well with regards to food security.”

“We’ve done extremely well in terms of food security because there are three components when it comes to meeting the food security requirements of any country and that is in terms of availability, accessibility and affordability, and in all these components, we can say in absolute terms that there is no food security issue in Fiji,” said Minister Reddy.

“I want to thank you, our farmers, because farmers like you in the interior are playing a very important role in assisting Government to ensure that we have enough food for the entire country, despite living in very remote areas and with issues such as lack of infrastructure, electricity or water, bad roads, or unfavourable weather, you have worked very hard to ensure that you supply the produce to the urban community.

“Hadn’t you and your counterparts in the maritime islands and in the interior of Fiji worked hard, we would’ve had a food security issue but because you continue to toil and work hard, there is no issue as such,” said Hon. Reddy.

Minister Reddy also reiterated that Fiji’s food security could only be guaranteed when farmers put to good use the resources available at their disposal.

“We cannot leave the security of food, our food, in the hands of an external party from outside Fiji. We need to ensure that our food security is in our control, our food security can only be guaranteed if our farmers and our agricultural entrepreneurs put to good use the resources at their disposal.

“Let’s put agriculture to its rightful place, we’ve got a strategic advantage in certain crops and livestock so let’s make maximum use of it,” he said.

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