Thousands of Fijian households have been able to access fresh food and produce thanks to the Basa Exchange Program, run by Rise Beyond the Reef.

The Fiji Water Foundation supports the program by facilitating the purchasing of 135 tonnes of fresh crops, and five tonnes of fresh fish from 1,709 rural remote households.

These households may have otherwise been unable to sell their products due to the impacts of lockdowns earlier this year.

Rise Beyond the Reef works to ensure the food supplies reach the most vulnerable and marginalized communities throughout Fiji.

With the support of FIJI Water Foundation and other partners, the equivalent of $143,000 worth of food and produce has been purchased from rural and remote communities.

These were then distributed to 2,514 households and 749 individuals from Nadi to Ba, Nausori, Suva and Labasa.

The Basa Exchange program also helps empower women living in remote rural communities to become leaders in the pandemic response by giving them the opportunity to coordinate their community’s supply of fresh crops.

This ensures food security for the entirety of the communities through both urban and peri urban areas of Fiji.