MINISTER FOR YOUTH & SPORTS HON. PARVEEN BALA'S ADDRESS AT THE YOUTH FARM INITIATIVE GRANT HANDOVER AT KALABU VILLAGE, NASINU

20/10/2021


•    Master of Ceremonies;
•    Head of the District;
•    Respected Church Minister;
•    Village elders;
•    Youth participants;
•    Ladies and Gentlemen;

Bula Vinaka and Good morning to you all!

It gives me great pleasure to participate in this ceremony, marking the official hand-over of our Youth Farm Initiative assistance to Kalabu Koro Youth Club from the Ministry of Youth and Sports in support of our COVID-19 response efforts. 
 
Ladies and Gentlemen, this occasion is fitting as it comes at a time when Fiji had just joined the global community in commemorating the 2021 World Food Day.
Food systems around the world has undergone immense pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only has this brought forth disruptions in food systems and magnified the fragility of systems and livelihoods, but it has triggered a job crisis.
 
Your Government is doing everything it can to stop this job crisis from turning into a social crisis. Reconstructing a better and more resilient labour market is an essential investment in the future and in future generations.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Kalabu Youth Club that has been selected by Government to be the recipients of this grant will receive farming materials. These include spray tanks, knives, digging forks, digging spades, watering cans and vegetable seedlings such as Chinese cabbage, watermelon, egg plants and some organic boosters.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Ministry of Youth and Sports is committed to ensuring young people are successful and achieving their goals in all avenues of entrepreneurship and income generating projects. 
 
We will be there to provide adequate monitoring, provide follow up visits and also offer some basic assistance according to your farming needs on the ground. However, we are there to support and empower as we believe that you should be able very soon to run your enterprise yourself without our assistance.
 
The Ministry will conduct a postdisbursement monitoring and verification exercise, which will monitor the progress made in your youth club.
 
I urge you all to seize the opportunity that has been given. Work as hard as you can and use your imagination to think of new ways to make your farms and potential business grow. Use the materials wisely and for the purpose it has been given to you. 
 
With those words, I wish you all the best.
 
Vinaka Vakalevu and Thank you.