The Ministry of Agriculture, the Dairy Industry, and the Government of New Zealand, in collaboration with the Navuso Agricultural Technical Institute (NATI), initiated the National Certificate in Agriculture Dairy Level 2 program as part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen the dairy industry in Fiji.

While officiating at the National Certificate in Agriculture Dairy Level 2 program launch at NATI this week, the Minister for Agriculture and Waterways Hon. Vatimi Rayalu said the Government of Fiji is mandated to grow the agriculture sector beyond incremental growth rates and stressed the importance of boosting the on-farm productivity. 

“Therefore, a refreshed approach to agriculture workforce skills development is needed through training to support the development of competitive value chains, industries or agribusiness development, including farm management skills that are critical to driving sustainable commercial farms,” said Hon. Rayalu.

He added that the challenges and gaps in the agriculture sector such as the ageing workforce, slow uptake of skills, limited extension advisory support, lack of recognition for investment in skills training, and lack of harmonised approaches and incentives for training particularly for youths need to be addressed.

“To respond to changing consumer preferences and climate change, the sector needs to encourage the workforce through further training on formal skills recognition, providing lifelong learning pathways that open up employment opportunities and we can achieve this through Agricultural Technical Vocational Education Training (“A–TVET’’) using National Qualifications and other relevant courses..”

He said the National Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) program is important compared to the National Development Plan which is already used successfully by several industries in Fiji such as tourism construction, health, children’s education and aged care training.

“The Agriculture TVET training on skills development of Fiji’s agricultural workforce is to increase farm productivity through demand based technical vocational training such as the National Certificate in Agriculture Dairy Level 2 program which will take TVET training to newer heights,” said Hon. Rayalu.

Hon. Rayalu commended the Navuso Agricultural Technical Institute for attaining the milestone of being the first institution in Fiji to provide this national certificate and also recognized their commitment to collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture and the dairy stakeholders to strengthen the much needed skills in the dairy industry. 

He said the dairy industry is one of the most important industries in Fiji, as it provides not only by-products but also helps to ensure food and nutrition security, and brings in income and employment for many families.

The National Certificate in Agriculture Dairy Level 2 program provides standardized training for Fiji’s dairy industry and also equips youth farmers and the agriculture workforce with a recognized and accredited qualification that can be used in New Zealand and Australia.

The program has been developed by the Dairy Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Government of New Zealand and accredited by the Fiji Higher Education Commission (FHEC).

The program provides workplace training up to Level 2 and will further provide skills training in at least five (5) areas that were determined by the Industry Standards Advisory Committee (ISAC) as key knowledge competencies. These are nutrition and pasture management, calf rearing, milk quality, animal welfare and husbandry and fencing.

Eighteen (18) students have been enrolled to be pioneers of this program, which will run for 11 weeks from 19^th April to 20^th June 2023 and are expected to graduate in July 2023.

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