A TWO-day workshop focused on strengthening Fiji's smallholder farmers concludes at the Southern Cross Hotel in Suva today.
Coordinated by the Crops Extension Services of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Pacific Community (SPC), the workshop titled 'Supporting smallholder farmers in Asia and Pacific Islands Region through Strengthened Agricultural Advisory Services (SAAS)', brought together 26 representatives from government, NGOs, academic institutions and other key stakeholders.
Among the issues discussed include identifying policy gaps for extension services and opportunities to address those gaps, identifying capacity building needs for both farmer groups and extension service providers, identifying opportunities to support extension services, the establishment of a Fiji Extension and Advisory Services Country Forum, and identifying good practices in Fiji Extension Services that can inspire future work.
"There is a need to consolidate agricultural projects to achieve the desired outcomes such as increasing agricultural income in the rural areas," said Sakiusa Tubuna, the IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) Sub-Regional Coordinator for the Pacific Islands.
The SAAS project is a joint partnership between the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), SPC, the Pacific Islands Rural Advisory Services (PIRAS), the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS), the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture College (SEARCA) and the Ministry of Agriculture.