The Ministry of Agriculture had not performed any prior assessment to ascertain the divisions and areas which needed assistance for immediate relief from the impact of COVID-19.
This, according to the Office of the Auditor-General’s Report on Compliance Audits Relating to COVID-19 Response that was tabled in Parliament last week.
The ministry was given $1 million to bolster Fiji’s food security in the 2019/2020 COVID- 19 Response Budget.
“The home gardening and farm support assistance constitute one of the three initiatives undertaken to assist in maintaining food security,” the report stated.
“The objective of the home gardening initiative was to assist the people that were affected by COVID-19 in urban and peri-urban areas through the provision of home gardening and farm support seed and seedling packages.”
The OAG recommended the Ministry of Agriculture ensure that policies and standard operating procedures were in place to guide future assistance co-ordinated by the ministry.
