SUVA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Farmers from the interior of Naitasiri, Navosa, and Ba in Viti Levu, Fiji recently met to discuss opportunities to maximize income generation through agricultural practices in their villages.

More than 50 farmers attended the 2-day meeting organized by Fiji's Ministry of Agriculture through the Fiji Agricultural Partnership Project (FAPP), which supports farming communities in the remote and rural highlands of these three out of the 14 provinces in the island nation to increase income from their farms to improve their livelihoods.

A press release from the Department of Information on Monday said the meeting provided a platform for peer learning as representatives from the various area clusters shared practical issues they faced and discussed opportunities and potential solutions to overcome these challenges.

Through the work led by PCDF, around 1,000 Fijian farmers within the seven highland districts of the provinces of Ba, Naitasiri and Navosa have been registered.

The project will benefit Fijian farmers in 41 villages on Viti Levu which is the largest island in Fiji.

Cluster representatives from these areas said the potential for growth in these areas was not realized because of their remote locations.

The absence of farm roads has deprived these areas of agricultural production opportunities and they were grateful for the Fijian government's foresight in addressing the challenges by empowering them with information, knowledge and skills to boost agricultural production and reduce hardships faced by families in the provinces.

FAPP's Knowledge Management, Monitoring and Evaluating Officer Inosi Vulawalu underscored the value of these community empowerment initiatives in providing a space for farmers to highlight issues important to them.

"This initiative provides 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," said Vulawalu.

The FAPP project and the Ministry of Agriculture will now be working together with other stakeholders to see how best to address the central issue of farm road access raised by farmers.

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).

More than 100,000 households in Fiji engage in agricultural activities such as growing crops, raising livestock, fishing, freshwater aquaculture or marine aquaculture. Enditem

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