President of the Fiji Bee Association John Lewis (seated) watches Dharmendra Prasad, Ministry of Agriculture, demonstrate Queen Bee hiving techniques. Photo: FIJI CROP & LIVESTOCK COUNCIL
By RANOA BAOA
The Fiji Crop & Livestock Council (FCLC) is introducing information technology applications to boost its activities and target membership of the estimated 30,000 farmers in Fiji.
The council is working together with its 12 member associations so that this target is reached.
With the launching of the council and appointment of its chief executive officer, Lavinia Kaumaitotoya, the secretariat plans to boost the council by reinforcing structures.
Ms Kaumaitotoya said: “It is early days in the development of FCLC and with the secretariat now in place a major focus will be in reinforcing structures and expansion of the Associations.
“These mobile-based applications will do more as they will allow farmers to join their Associations (and thus the FCLC) through their mobile phones.”
Council funding
The International Trade Centre is facilitating the development of the council with funds provided by the European Union through its Improvement of Key Services to Agriculture Programme.
Farmers can be able to access critical weather information, agricultural advisory and market place information, she said.
Economic benefits
“Ultimately, it is about food security, it is about reducing our imports and increasing our exports.
“We can achieve this by helping the farmers increase the yield and quality of their crops and their livestock and for the farmer, increased efficiency means increased income.”
The Council is composed of the Pig, Dairy, Beef, Sheep/Goat, Root Crop, Ginger, Kava, Honey, Fruit, Salad Vegetables and Coconut Associations, as well as Food Processors.
Government established the council in conjunction with private sector agricultural associations in July 2010.
Since then, the council has been working closely with the Ministry of Primary Industries and stakeholders to address concerns affecting the agricultural industry.