Farm to Table: Constraints, Opportunities and Connections that Farms - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Building Resilience of SIDS through Trade and Agribusiness Development

Learning from Successes in Agribusiness

Farm to Table: Constraints, Opportunities and Connections that Farms have with Tourism industry in the Pacific

The Pacific

Annual Number of Tourists (Overnight visitors)

Agriculture and Forestry Import Value as a Proportion of Total Import Value (%)

Situation in the Pacific

• Lack of existence of Agricultural Policies in island

countries

• Lack of connection between the Agricultural Sector and

the Tourism Industry

• Farmers were producing for the local markets and export

markets

• Lack of awareness of local foods and inclusion in

restaurants and hotels menu

• Lack of proper government incentives to farmers to

increase production and improve quality

• No farmers organizations to advocate for farmers interest
• Lot of emphasis and support for the Sugar Industry
• High level of importation of foods by the hotel industry

Case Study: Fiji

• major importer of food: its food import bill is estimated to be growing by

20 percent every year.

• Estimated import bill US$31m annually
• Devalued the Fijian dollar by 20 percent in 2009
• Import Prices increased
• Introduced 5-13 year tax holidays for investors in commercial agriculture

and agro-processing and reduced all import levies of specialized agricultural machinery, equipment like greenhouses and hydroponics and

• ther agricultural inputs
• Established designated geographic tax free zones, in order to encourage

clustering of agro-processing.

• Provision of interest subsidies for loans to agricultural

enterprises provided by both commercial banks and development banks

• Increase agricultural productions in

the vegetables

• Increase investment in hydroponic

farms

• Increase supply of local vegetables to

hotels and restaurants

Result of Policy Changes by Fiji Government

Result of Policy Changes by Fiji Government

• Volume of lettuce declined from 140

000 to 30,000 tonnes

• Volume
• f

imported tomatoes declined from 160 000 tonnes in 2008 to 20 000 tonnes in 2011;

• Volume of capsicum imported

declined from 60 000 tonnes to 10 000 tonnes, from 2008 to 2011

The Link ?

Winner: Best Cookbook in the World 2010, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, Paris

Farm to Table…..

From Farm to Table in the Pacific Vinaka Vakalevu