Competing interest for agricultural land remains as major challenge

Competing interest for agricultural land by other industries and climate change remains as a major challenge to the food security in Fiji.

This was highlighted by the Assistant Minister for Agriculture Joeli Cawaki at the Pacific Roundtable on Partnership in Agriculture organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Government of Indonesia in Bali, in Indonesia this week.

The meeting brought together 300 rural development experts and government ministers from Asia and the Pacific to exchange ideas on achieving sustainable development and shape rural development policies in the region.

It provided a platform to explore issues such as how policies can enable innovations, promote rural entrepreneurship and help smallholder farmers and fishers to adapt to climate change.

International Fund for Agricultural Development currently has an investment portfolio of US$2.05 billion US dollars in 22 countries in the Asia and the Pacific region, benefitting an estimated 24 million rural people.