Press Release Detail

ADDRESS

HON. KALAVETI VODO RAVU

MINISTER FOR FISHERIES AND FORESTRY

Hon. Ravu spoke at the 3^rd FAO And SPC Joint Pacific Ministers Of Agriculture and Forestry Meeting on Friday, 10^th March 2023 at Sofitel Spa & Resort, Nadi, Fiji

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·         Honourable Ministers for Agriculture and Forestry

·         Deputy Director-General for the FAO, Mr. Laurent Thomas

·         Director General for SPC, Dr. Stuart Minchin

·         Ambassadors and High Commissioners, Members of the Diplomatic Core

·         Development Partners

·         Distinguished Guests

·         Ladies and Gentlemen

Ni sa bula vinaka and a very good morning to you all and a warm welcome again to Fiji.

First and foremost, I must extend to you the sincerest apologies of our Prime Minister, Honourable Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka who could not be here this morning as he had to attend a very moving occasion in our nation’s history – the installation of the new Vunivalu Na Tui Kaba on Bau Island after nearly 64 years.

Our Prime Minister also just returned yesterday (07.03.23) following a successful meeting at the 2023 Panama Our Oceans Conference.
Despite his inability to join you today (10.03.23), the Prime Minister has asked that I pledge to you all this morning our Government’s continued commitment to working with other Pacific Island countries as we transform Pacific agriculture and forestry through research.
The meeting of Ministers is always an important part of the Pacific Week of Agriculture and Forestry and I trust you’ve had fruitful discussions over the past few days. The meeting provides a valuable opportunity for Pacific partners and leaders to ‘talanoa’ and share ideas. 
As you deliberate today, I remind you of our obligation as leaders in such an important sector. I hope you will remain steadfast in your resolve that we are merely guardians of resources - for the well-being of our children and our future generations. 
As we all know, global food systems are failing to deliver sufficient and nutritious food.  Agriculture and forests are part of the global food system and they are essential to solving challenges like food and water security.
A lot has happened since the Pacific Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry meetings three years ago in Samoa. 
The Global Health crisis unlike any in history crippled our global economy and upset people's lives. This was therefore followed by rising food, fuel, feed, and fertilizer prices. 
Moreover, we were concurrently struggle with threats of food insecurity, protracted conflicts, recurrent cyclones, and the worst locust infection in decades. 
To mitigate the risk, Fiji's Agriculture and Forestry sector implemented various food security, growth, and expansion plans aimed at raising our national income.
The 2023 PWAF meeting and today are platforms that provide the opportunity to discuss and explore how Pacific nations can leverage the agriculture and forestry sectors as part of our national and regional efforts to reshape food systems that better support healthy diets and environment sustainability in the Pacific.

Challenges
Honourable Ministers and distinguished guests, while we may be Small Island Developing States, we are also diverse with varying natural wealth. Countries like Fiji can grow an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables and have a good forestry resource base with the potential to expand. 
On the other hand, atoll islands like Kiribati and others have limited natural resource bases.
Despite this, we all face common challenges such as a lack of financial and human resources, limited capacity and poor infrastructure, our dependency on imported products, loss of forests and biodiversity and high level of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) to name a few.
The fact that our region has the highest rate of NCDs in the world is very worrying. NCD is the leading cause of death in Fiji where about 80 per cent of deaths are NCD related. 
I wish to highlight here that according to a World Bank report in 2021, the world's food systems will have to become much more productive to feed a projected global population of nearly 10 billion by 2050, while at the same time reduce emissions and protect the environment. 
Studies estimate the cost of food systems transformation would be about $300 billion per year over the next 10 years.

Transforming the Agriculture and Forestry Sector

Ladies and Gentlemen, trees and forests can contribute to health and sustainable food systems but we need to acknowledge the tensions and trade-offs between the different agriculture and forestry agenda.

We need to enhance the discussion with stakeholders and share an understanding of the main challenges and adopt common strategies to overcome them.

Furthermore, any action or solution must contribute to building resilience and must be sustainable.

We must explore how innovation, technology and digitalisation can contribute to accelerate achieving Sustainable Development Goals that leave no one behind.

Additionally, they must empower and engage women, youth, and vulnerable groups. 

You will agree with me that collaboration is needed to make sure the right incentives are in place and financing is mobilised to make that happen.

We must therefore continue to build on, partner with, and complement the most relevant global initiatives, networks, and coalitions.

At this juncture, I would like to thank all our development partners, academic and research institutions, particularly the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Pacific Community (SPC).

The FAO and SPC have continuously worked with Pacific Island Countries to achieve food security and support necessary transformation in the agriculture and forestry sector.

With those words, I declare the 2023 PWAF Meeting of the Ministers open and I wish you all success in your deliberation today.

Thank you, Vinaka Vakalevu and Dhaanyavaad.