Agriculture contribution to the GDP has averaged around 4.2% in the last 5 years – Koya

For the past 5 years, agriculture contribution to the Gross Domestic Product has averaged around 4.2% and in 2019, agriculture contributed around $725.8 million.

This has been revealed by Minister for Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport, Faiyaz Koya during the launch of the Western Division Agriculture Show and says that in 2019, more than 87,000 farmers produced approximately 327,000 metric tonnes of agricultural commodities, as compared to 315,000 metric tonnes in 2018.

Koya says agriculture exports continue to grow where in the first half of 2020, exports of fresh and chilled commodities grew by 15%, when compared to 2018.

He says this growth is attributed to kava exports to the US, dalo to New Zealand and Australia, turmeric and ginger to the US, spices to the Netherlands and fresh produce exports to the Pacific Island Countries.

The Minister says it is important to maintain consistency of supply and quality of produce to enable them to maintain the existing markets and explore new ones.

He says with good quality the packaging is also important where the Fijian Made brand provides opportunities, especially for farmers, to get brand recognition locally and globally.

Koya says being licensed as Fijian Made or Fijian Grown provides leverage to marketing produce in the Fijian and the global market.

The Minister also adds that agriculture is the key to eradicating hunger and poverty there is a need to encourage farmers to plant more and supply more Fijian grown food for local and international markets.