06 June, Rome, Italy: The Prime Minister Hon. Voreqe Bainimarama has presented the recently launched Green Growth Framework to the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
The Head of the Fijian Government is leading a delegation to the 39th FAO Conference currently underway in Rome, which gathers heads of states and governments, senior government officials, the private sector and civil society to look at ways of developing sustainable global food security.
At a side panel event designed to understand the impact of food security on small island developing states, the Prime Minister said that Fiji’s recently launched Green Growth Framework, a first for the South Pacific region, provides a “comprehensive initiative that gives us a blueprint for the sustainable development of our natural resources.”
Closely aligned to the principles of the FAO, Prime Minister Bainimarama said that the Framework guarantees the ability to produce safe, healthy affordable food for all Fijians at all times.
“To ensure we successfully meet this goal, we must focus on four key elements: expanding and maintaining the domestic capacity to produce enough food to feed our local population; diversifying our food production base to satisfy dietary needs; ensuring ease of access to food by maintaining the appropriate distributions systems that link people to markets; and monitoring the efficiency of farms to ensure competitive local produce prices for the benefit of ordinary Fijians.”
PM Bainimarama told international delegates that given Fiji’s geographical location, the Framework ensures that there is a balance between food security and sustainable development.
“Fiji has embraced the concept of Green Growth for a Blue Economy and that is only natural considering the prominence of marine resources for many ordinary Fijians in their everyday lives. For this reason we strongly support the proposed Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and other marine resources for sustainable development. This goal gives global recognition to and promotes the challenges all of us deal with as Pacific Small Island Developing States.”
Press Release