Fiji and the World Food Programme will work together to respond to the immediate nutritional needs of people in Fiji and the Pacific.

This was the key outcome of discussions between the Agriculture Minister Dr Mahendra Reddy and WFP Executive Director, David Beasley in Italy.

The 2019 WFP Executive Board meeting was an opportunity for both leaders to look at how they can work closely together.

In their discussions, Dr Reddy commended the role the WFP has played in the Pacific over the years.

“Given the growing demand for nutritional food against a backdrop of growing global challenges, we recognize the important role that the WFP plays in this process”

Dr Reddy adds climate change poses great challenges in our part of the world and it’s expected to severely impact food security especially in the most climate-vulnerable nations.

As a result of climate impacts, affected nations are unable to fully produce their own food including agriculture produce.

He adds this in turn, places an additional burden on small economies that incur high food import bills and the dependency on cheap and processed food decreases the nutritional value of the meals people require.

In response, Beasley says they will work with all its partners to address the gaps and challenges of climate change on ordinary citizens.

Minister Reddy is in Rome attending the WFP Executive Board meeting which is currently underway.