In an effort to boost seedling supply, the Pacific Community through its European Union funded Improvement of Key Services to Agriculture (IKSA) project is working with the Ministry of Agriculture and the private sector to establish seedling nurseries in Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.
This will also establish a network among seedling supplies to ensure the mass production and distribution of quality materials to farmers in the targeted areas.
Whilst speaking to Nursery Operators during a three days Forum at Novotel Hotel in Nadi recently, Land Resource Division Director at Pacific Community, Inoke Ratukalou congratulated the nursery operators for the resilience in getting back on their feet and to continue producing seedlings after experiencing the brunt of Tropical Cyclone Winston.
However, the accessibility and affordability of good quality seeds has been seen as a major concern for farmers and the general public for many years, not only for Fiji but for the other Pacific Island countries as well.
The Ministry of Agriculture has published its Fiji 2020 Agriculture Sector Policy Agenda which has a lot of development potential in regards to crop production and in particular the export promotion and import substitution policies and food security policies.
