[Photo: FILE]
The Tourism Ministry is calling on farmers to diversify their crop offerings to help reduce Fiji’s reliance on imports.
Minister Viliame Gavoka noted that Fiji spends about $200 million on imports, with a 2017 report confirming that $100 million worth of crops annually are brought in to meet local demand.
Gavoka says Fiji needs to minimise importation by encouraging farmers to grow a wider variety of crops locally.
“As you know, tourism is doing very well, but we’re buying a lot of vegetables from overseas.”
However, businessman George Shiu Raj says while diversifying crops may not be a problem, finding export markets for those crops remains a challenge.
“The problem in our country is the market; it is the prime duty of the government, the Minister for sugar, to give the market, if the market is there, we’ll continue to plant other crops also.”
The Ministry believes crop diversification will not only strengthen food security but also support tourism and reduce Fiji’s import bill.
