IFC Vice President for Asia and Pacific, Ms Nena Stoiljkovic;
IFC Regional Director for East Asia Pacific, Mr Vivek Pathak;
Australian High Commissioner to Fiji, H.E. John Feakes;
IFC Team/World Bank Group;
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Bula Vinaka and a very good morning to you all.

It is a pleasure to be here this morning to launch the Tourism and Agriculture Linkages Report, a study piloted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in partnership with the Fijian Government.

I also take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to Ms Nena Stoiljkovic. I believe this is your first visit to Fiji and the Pacific. I hope you will enjoy your stay in Fiji and experience the world-renowned Fijian hospitality.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The study, ‘From the Farm to the Tourist’s Table’, provides important information for policy makers and the private sector, to enhance linkages between the agriculture and tourism sectors.

The report shows the percentage of agro-based produce hotels in Fiji import, in comparison to what is sourced locally. It also identifies the opportunities that are available for hotels to source locally.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is important to note, that there has been significant reduction in imports, from 80 percent in 2011, to 52 percent in 2017. It is encouraging to note that 48 percent of the fresh produce needs of hotel are sourced locally.

The report identifies a list of vegetables, fruits, juices and meat that can be sourced locally. These include, capsicums, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, rock melon, honeydew melon, beef, prawns, bacon, cheese, to name a few. Therefore, by making these produce available locally, we can reduce the import bill by approximately $24 million.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To achieve this feat and address broader issues of sustainability, strengthening linkages and creating closer synergies between the tourism and agriculture sectors is imperative.

In this regard, the Fijian Government is fully committed to assisting both large-scale commercial farmers, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) farmers in growing their businesses to cater for this specific market.

As set out in Fiji’s 5-Year and 20-Year National Development Plan, the Fijian Government will continue to implement policies that strengthen the linkages and synergies between the agriculture and tourism sectors. This will in turn contribute to a more competitive, quality and sustainable local industry.

The NDP is complemented by the Fiji 2020 Agriculture Sector Policy Agenda, which focuses on maximising opportunities presented by the domestic market, in particular, the supply of agricultural produce to the tourism industry.

To ensure policy coherence, strategic priority areas emanating from the Fijian Tourism 2021 – the tourism development plan, also aligns to the NDP. The FT 2021 focuses on capitalising on the existing synergies between agriculture and tourism and rewarding tourism operators who source Fijian Made and Fijian Grown products and services. This ultimately leads to improved linkages to local supply chains ensuring higher retention of the tourist dollar in the local economy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Fijian Made-Buy Fijian campaign is one key initiative that promotes the consumption of Fijian Made products and services both locally and internationally. The campaign encourages high quality and niche produce through the ‘Fijian Grown’ brand.

Two weeks ago, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, conducted a 5-day training for 13 local chefs. This was the second of a series of training to promote the use of local produce in hotel menus. The training provided local chefs the opportunity to learn from renowned Chef Collin Chung to use innovative and creative ideas to present contemporary dishes to visitors.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Ministry together with the Ministry of Agriculture plans to further improve the production of Fijian Grown produce, especially for the tourism sector. This will not only benefit the agricultural sector, but will also make it easier for hoteliers to source locally, rather than going through the onerous import processes.

In addition, the Ministry will this year conduct an export capacity building seminar to build capacity of farmers, in terms of meeting international standards, quality and ways of doing business. This will enable farmers to be export-ready and at the same time they will be ready to meet the specifications and standards of the hotels.

A number of businesses that have been assisted by the Fijian Government and now have established links to the tourism industry, such as, Joe’s Farm, who supply quality agricultural produce to hotels and resorts along the Coral Coast, Nadi, Denarau and the Mamanucas. Ram Sami and Sons supplies eggs to a number of resorts and hotels around Fiji.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Last year, the IFC and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) ‘Fiji Partnership’ was successfully launched to encourage closer collaboration with the Fijian Government and to support the ongoing business reforms that create an enabling environment for private sector led growth.

This Partnership is focused on growth through private sector development. Since the inception of the Fiji Partnership, the Tourism and Agriculture Linkages Study is amongst other key projects of the Fijian Government that IFC has assisted in. Other projects include, the investment policy and legal framework review, IVS diagnostic review and market assessment for Wairabetia Economic Zone.

Therefore, we see an opportunity to partner with the IFC in the area of capacity building for farmers, sharing market access intelligence and working on developing applications that provide hotels information on the availability of supplies.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today’s launch is also significant for achieving another milestone. Today, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism and IFC will enter into a Cooperation Agreement to formalise and further strengthen our partnership.

Having said that, I once again acknowledge the efforts of IFC and the Australian Government in the continued pursuit to advancing Fiji’s economic industries. We look forward to working more closely in the coming years in implementing key recommendations from this report and pursuing other initiatives that will benefit the country.

I wish you all a successful workshop.

Thank you and Vinaka vakalevu.