HIS EXCELLENCY MAJOR-GENERAL (RET'D) JIOJI KONUSI KONROTE'S ADDRESS AT THE WORLD FOOD DAY CORPORATE EVENT

16/10/2020


• The Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment, 
Honourable Dr. Mahendra Reddy; 
• The Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism & Transport, 
Honourable Faiyaz Siddiq Koya;
• Senior Government Officials;
• FAO Assistant Representative, Ms. Joann Young;
• Members of Diplomatic Corp;
• Partners and Stakeholders;
• Ladies and Gentlemen.

Ni Sa Bula Vinaka, Namaste, Asalaamu Alaykum, Ni Hao, Noa’ia ‘e Mauri and A very Good Evening to you all. 

We are here to talk food –– like any good Fijian, I love a good lovo or curry. But in recent years, I have learned a tremendous amount about how the food we eat affects our health. 

I have carried the mantra of “we must eat to live, not live to eat” around the country to engrain the importance of nutritious eating in an effort to combat the prevalence of non-communicable diseases in Fiji –– the single greatest killer of our people.  

2020 marks 75 years for the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation. This morning, I joined the UN Secretary-General and Special Envoy for the World Food Summit to mark World Food Day as part of a 24-hour Global Relay, where I was honoured to be named an Eminent Champion of the Food System Summit that will be convened by the UN Secretary General in October next year. 

It is an opportunity I will use to share the uncommon challenges Fiji and other Pacific nations face when it comes to creating sustainable food systems. Our people do not suffer from the rampant levels of malnutrition seen around the developing world. But we do suffer from a broken food system –– one that produces some of the highest rates of NCDs on Earth.  It does not have to be that way. 

Fiji has the land, the fertile soil, and the reefs to build a healthy, resilient, and sustainable food supply system. We are a nation of backyard gardeners. We are a people who can look to our land and our reefs to sustain ourselves –– and we did just that for generations. But that history has given way to a dangerous trend. More and more of our people are choosing processed foods in recent years.  These can be more convenient, they can be cheap, but they lack nutrition.  That leads to far higher long-term costs, like obesity, which leads to our very high numbers of NCDs. And that bad health can lead to bad outcomes in other areas, like education and employment.

The point is, being food secure is not enough: We must be nutrition secure. We not only need enough to eat, we need nutritious food to be accessible, affordable, and enjoyable for our people to consume. That requires we get back to our roots –– literally. Our diets must include more of our traditional staples: Fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins like fish and other seafood. 

Ladies and gentlemen, as we commemorate/celebrate this World Food Day let us all give thought to the quality of the food we eat, and let us consider what each of us can do, whether you are a farmer, an agricultural officer, a market vendor, an importer, a fisher, or if you are running a restaurant or supermarket, to help make healthy eating a bigger part of our peoples’ lives. I am glad to know our National Food and Nutrition Security Policy for Fiji is nearing completion. 

With so much sustainable progress at-risk due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot suffer any lapse in our nation’s nutrition security. In fact, this crisis has revealed opportunities we would be wise to seize. As we have endured this pandemic’s economic devastation, we have seen many Fijians return to farming in rural and maritime communities. 

The Ministry of Agriculture has distributed thousands of seed packages to homes and partnered with the Fiji Agro-Marketing Authority to ensure farmers have access to markets with predictable prices.  We are modernizing the industry to make it more attractive for younger farmers.  We are formalizing farmers into collective structures which bring benefits you would expect among other established professions. 

In terms of fisheries, I am told the sustainable aquaculture programme at the Ministry of Fisheries is in overdrive.  One of the taglines for this year’s World Food Day is “#foodheroes” and we have a few of those heroes among us this evening, showcasing their innovations.  They may not be wearing their capes, but I can assure you that by helping make healthier eating available to our people, their hard work is saving lives, just like the superheroes we see on the big screen.

Friends, building a nutrition-based food system in Fiji will not only make us healthier, it gives us the chance to build a Fijian brand of nutrition that is known around the world. The story tells itself: A people with an age-old bond with nature who are taking ancient foods and practices, and innovating to create new agricultural products that people everywhere would love to try. 

We are building that brand under the Fijian-Made umbrella. When we see “Fijian-Grown” or “Fijian-Organic” on a product–– we know we can count on its quality. That brand will not only boost our exports but encourage our own people to buy local, healthy produce. 

And even as businesses –– particularly small, medium, and micro enterprises –– suffer the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fijian Government has stepped up with over 17 million dollars of concessional loan support, 20% of which have gone to support SMEs from the agriculture, fisheries, food and hospitality sectors.  Funds have even gone towards out-of-work with specialized skillsets looking to start their own micro businesses. 

And we look forward to many of these Fijians adding to the body of products under the Fijian-Made and Fijian-Grown brand. So, as you can see, Fiji can mark this World Food Day with great promise and with practical progress under our belt. I truly believe Fiji can be one of the great food system successes of this generation. I believe we can build an agricultural industry that brings prosperity to our farmers and healthy outcomes for our people. And even in the face of our changing climate, I believe we can build resilient food systems that are a model to the world.  

Congratulations again to our food heroes here today. And to our farmers across the country, working hard to provide the food that sustains our people, know that you all are heroes in my book.  Happy World Food Day!

Vinaka Vakalevu, Dhanyavaad, Xiexie, Faiak’sea, Thank you All and God Bless.