Curbing the rural to urban drift is a huge challenge for the sustainability of the kava industry.
This was highlighted by Agriculture Ministry permanent secretary Dr Andrew Tukana during the Kava Taskforce meeting in Nadi on Wednesday.
Representatives from the ministry as well as stakeholders met to iron out issues surrounding the kava industry and also share their research work and findings on kava.
“Kava is a growing industry in the Pacific region and constant research is being conducted to keep the kava market flowing,” said Dr Tukana.
He said they hoped to identify challenges faced by the industry and hold discussions with the stakeholders to work out strategies to counter those challenges.
“It is sad to see that the age gap for the farming population in our communities has declined as most of the young men and women have moved to the urban areas and even abroad for employment.
“It is crucial that we work towards improving collaboration and co-ordination efforts of the activities that we do to address the challenges in the sector so that development can occur and grow the kava industry in Fiji.”
It was also highlighted at the meeting that the multi-million dollar kava industry had a lot more potential, however, it needed a multi-sectoral approach in order for it to be sustainable.
“The ministry hopes more young farmers will reach out for more information and advice on how to better utilise their land for sustainable livelihoods.”
