KAVA is being positioned as a key income source to support farmers alongside sugar as the government moves to introduce Fiji’s first-ever Kava Bill, says Minister for Agriculture,Waterways, and Sugar Tomasi Tunabuna.
“We’ve never had a Kava Bill before, and now because it’s contributing significantly to our economy, we would want to cover kava under certain legislation,” he said.
“We’ve had in the past a lot of work and discussion around how we could commercialise kava, and also to use kava as a complement to the income that we get from sugar.”
Mr Tunabuna said kava and other agricultural products are gaining momentum in regional and overseas markets.
He said the proposed kava policy and bill would guide future operations.
He said challenges remain in processing and meeting export requirements.
“We currently have issues with how we are processing and marketing our kava, based on the requirements we have from different markets.”
He said the bill would protect all stakeholders in the industry.
“Having a kava bill will be able to protect both growers, processors and those who export, and also provide a guarantee to our consumers who normally buy kava from Fiji.”
He added that rising local consumption and a decline in the number of farmers are major contributing factors to the supply being affected.
He said the ministry is developing responses to address the supply gap.
He said maintaining Fiji’s reputation in export markets is a key focus.
“We would want to maintain our brand in the global market; this is a bill that is supposed to guide us on to how we set standards.”
The first kava bill and policy consultation will take place on February 3 at the Korovou office in Tailevu.
