The Hon. Sakiusa Tubuna, Assistant Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office
Ms. Sainiana Rokovucago, CEO, FRIEND
Mr Stanley Simpson, Director MaiTV Fiji Limited and Team
Ms. Elenoa Nimacere, Veikau Lodge owner
Mata ni Tikina
Women representatives from the provinces Rewa Tailevu Naitasiri
Media partners
Ladies and gentlemen
I am honoured to co-officiate and deliver the keynote address on the occasion of the Traditional Foods Exhibition today at this wonderful Veikau Eco Lodge. I must say that the traditional delicacies on display look very nutritious and delicious.
The Exhibition is timely indeed, as we have just celebrated the World Food Day on Monday 16th October with the theme “Water is Life, Food is Water, Leave No One Behind.” Water is not only essential for life but also for our sustenance and well-being.
Today, as we celebrate our traditional food systems and advancements in nutrition and best practices in agriculture, this showcase of traditional delicacies from the three provinces also show how water plays a critical role in healthy food production, enhancing food and nutrition security, and promoting public health.
Sustainable traditional diets and food systems are those with low environmental impacts and contribute to food and nutrition security, and to healthy life for the present and future generations. Sustainable traditional diets and food systems are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable; nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; while optimising natural and human resources.
It is important that we link nutrition with traditional food systems in agriculture, health, the environment, and culture. For agriculture, production yields, sustainable intensification and losses are just as important as health issues of Non-communicable diseases, food safety, obesity, and micronutrient malnutrition. Just as biodiversity loss, soil and water contamination and degradation are important considerations for the environment, one must not forget our cultural traditions and practices.
For traditional food systems, there are always dilemmas and trade offs such as increasing risks of NCDs, deforestation, and ensuring global carbon balances. However, all food systems are sustainable, as natural repositories of plant biodiversity, with livestock a synergistic part of this sustainability to ensure the supply of rich sources of nutrients, animal ethics and fibrous pasture species.
The essence of sustainable diets and food systems is an ecosystem approach. Responsible food systems although renewable, are not infinite and need to be properly managed, if their contribution to the nutritional, economic and social well-being of Fiji’s growing population is to be sustained.
In Fiji, we need to recognize the nutritional, economic, social, environmental and cultural contribution that our three provinces of Rewa, Tailevu and Naitasiri are addressing through this Traditional Food Exhibition; and their importance in addressing food and nutrition security and food quality, and giving priority to the nutritional and health needs of local communities.
I am confident that much thought and planning have been given to the harvesting, handling, preparation and display of these traditional delicacies that we are witnessing today, so as to maintain the nutritional value, quality and safety of the food, reduce waste and minimise negative impacts on the environment.
At the national level, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services together with the Ministry of Agriculture is finalising the Fiji Policy on Food and Nutrition Security, a whole-of-government policy that will cascade down to programmes and practices that will optimise healthy lifestyles, prevent and reduce NCDs, prevent environmental degradation and negative social, including nutritional impacts. Together with the Ministry of Agriculture, we hope to have this Policy endorsed in Cabinet before the end of this year.
Your Coalition Government is not journeying this trip alone and the government ministries have also networked with development partners and friends in the food and nutrition space to enhance our programs and their outcome. One such partner is FRIEND.
FRIEND is a community based non-governmental organisation that recently celebrated its 21st anniversary last month. Being aware of the needs of the community, they have been conducting social empowerment, economic and health activities. FRIEND has been partnering with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Nadi, Lautoka and Ba Subdivisions to conduct community awareness on healthy meal choices, home gardens and consumption of locally grown vegetables, herbs, fruits and lower the use of imported foods.
They have been advocating for the use of gluten free products like our traditional root crops – Kumala, Tavioka and Dalo flour, and having herbal tea options. FRIEND has training programs with single mums on healthy meal options and promotion of recipes using local fruits, vegetables and snacks.
You see Ladies and Gentlemen, the advocacy and promotion of sustainable traditional food systems is a community approach, where we can all contribute and have a role to play.
The Coalition Government, with development partners and donor organizations will support projects to improve post-harvest handling of crops, vegetables and fruits, and support our local communities and citizens to increase local food production. These can be home and community gardens and with appropriate stimulus packages in cash and kind to enhance food resilience, minimize food waste, and avoid over-buying while ensuring equitable access to food for all community members.
We will also support training for farmers, fisher folk and agribusinesses/SMEs with an emphasis on women and youths on value chain development, financial literacy and management, food safety, post-harvest handling, farming techniques, nutritional analysis that is required for value chain development.
So having a high-level inter-connected socio-economic policy agenda in the Fiji Policy on Food and Nutrition Security will provide the impetus for a cross-sectoral-coordinated approach with partnerships and shared responsibilities for addressing agriculture, nutrition and agribusiness, and for tackling NCDs in Fiji.
The Policy will establish a stronger public-sector collaboration and relationship with academia and private sector for evidence-based policy and strategic planning. It will help to organize networks and collectives of farmers, fishers, and SME agribusiness to leverage support and address value chain challenges and consider clustering as a means to collaborate.
The Policy will also assist in developing cohesive programmes and joint public-private financing platforms to increase availability of training and financing services for value chain development for farmers, fishers, and SME agribusiness, with a focus on women and youth.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is also launching with the Ministry of Civil Service the National Policy on Healthy Catering and Sale of Food and Beverages together with its relevant Guidelines on the 14th of November 2023. This Policy will address the importance of having healthy meals and options using local foods at all government facilities. So we look forward to working with your women’s groups, youth groups and other community-based and village-based groups to provide healthy local choices and options to cater at government gatherings, meetings and workshops at government facilities.
Ladies and gentlemen of the three provinces of Rewa, Tailevu and Naitasiri; this Traditional Food Exhibition is only the beginning of other health initiatives and programs yet to happen.
Through the Global Community Food and Health Project in the three provinces, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services has been providing the Project Advisory Committee with independent review, guidance and recommendations beginning in August 2022 until the project ends in July 2026.
So the Ministry remains committed to continuing collaboration with the three provinces of Rewa, Tailevu and Naitasiri with well-defined and evaluated health interventions to improve and sustain traditional food systems and household food and nutrition security, enhance learning, collaboration and strengthen capacity across government, NGOs and our local communities.
Vinaka vakalevu sara na nomuni yaco mai vakalewe levu e dai, meda mai marautaka vata na nomuni vakaraitaki ni kakana bulabula, kakana gasagasa vakaViti ena Veikau Eco Lodge.
Vinaka vakalevu.