SOME 41 villages from the interior of Naitasiri, Navosa and Ba stand to benefit from the Fiji Agricultural Partnership Project (FAPP).
More than 50 farmers attended a two-day meeting organised by the Ministry of Agriculture through FAPP, which supports farming communities in the remote and rural highlands to increase income.
These farmers met at Rewasau Village, Naitasiri, to share the practical issues they faced and to discuss the potential solutions to overcome those challenges.
Around 1000 farmers within the seven highland districts of the provinces of Ba, Naitasiri and Navosa had been registered for the project that will also benefit the 41 villages within the districts of Magodro, Savatu, Navatusila, Noikoro, Nadrau, Nasikawa and Nabobuco.
FAPP’s Knowledge Management, Monitoring and Evaluating officer Inosi Vulawalu said the initiative provided an opportunity for farmers to be part of the process of identifying solutions to overcome the constraints and in the process improve their capacity, strengthen and promote viable market linkages and agri-businesses.
Cluster representative of Noikoro/Nasikawa/Nadrau, Ilaisa Niutabua Ilaisa Niutabua said the absence of farm roads had deprived their areas of agricultural production opportunities.
He said they were grateful for the Government’s foresight in addressing the challenges by empowering them with information, and knowledge and skills to boost agricultural production and reduce hardships faced by their families.
The FAPP project is co-funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and implemented through the Ministry of Agriculture and Partners in Community Development Fiji (PCDF).
