Agriculture Ministry responsible for supporting livelihoods of ordinary Fijians who rely on farming

The Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for supporting the livelihoods of ordinary Fijians who rely on farming by providing technical crop and livestock extension services and conducting research to develop innovative solutions for Fiji's agriculture sector.

The ministry's budget increased by $10.5 million in the last financial year where they were allocated $96.8 million.

Due to the rising demand of goat and sheep meat by both Fijians and tourist, the ministry is looking to add more funds into this sector in research and extension works.

Currently, Fiji's sheep and goat meat imports stand at over $40 million and $970,000 respectively.

With more than $2 million being used in these two commodities, a total of 1,541 goat farms have been registered while 685 are sheep farms.

Minister for Agriculture, Dr Mahendra Reddy says sheep and goat farming is not only targeted for food security, however it acts as an income security especially for insurance to many farmers in the country for their daily cash flow.

Reddy says goat and sheep farming starts as a hobby but eventually it ends up trying to fulfill the local market demands.

ADVERTISEMENT