A taskforce will be formed within the Ministry Agriculture and its role will be to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of the Agricultural Research and Development Institute of Fiji (ARDIF).
The Coalition Government in its meeting earlier in the week approved the feasibility study.
According to Cabinet, the development of a productive agricultural sector in any country is based on an efficient and vibrant Research and Development (R&D) program that ensures food and nutrition security for its population.
“With a small island and developing agriculture sector such as Fiji, in comparison to bigger countries, it is economically and technically beneficial to merge research efforts for both crops and livestock and administer these under ARDIF,” Cabinet stated.
“Historically, agricultural crop research and animal research were initiated by the Ministry to develop technologies to assist farmers who lack resources to conduct research to improve their productivity.”
The outcome of the feasibility study will be tabled in Cabinet once completed.
