Policy Setting for Improved Linkages Between Agriculture, Trade and Tourism: Strengthening the Local Agrifood sector and Promoting Healthy Food in Agritourism
Workshop organised by the Government of Tuvalu
In collaboration with and Pacific Community, CTA, PIPSO and SPTO.
Funafuti, Tuvalu, 7 & 10 September 2018
2. Content of
Presentation
• Background on PIPSO
• Development in Agritourism in the
Pacific
• Agri-aqua tourism: Practices around
the world
• PIPSO’s Activities
• Conclusion
2
3. About PIPSO
Promoting and Inspiring the growth of Pacific
businesses
16 Forum Island Countries and Territories (FICS):
American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji,
Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati,
Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua
New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands,
Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu,
Vanuatu.
3
6. 6
1st Agribusiness
Forum
Linking the agrifood
sector to tourism
related markets
1 – 3 July 2015
Nadi, Fiji
Policy Setting
Workshop
25 – 27 May 2016
Port Vila, Vanuatu
2nd Agribusiness
Forum
Linking the agrifood
sector to local markets
for economic growth
and improved food and
nutrition security
29 August – 1 Sept
2016
Apia, Samoa
Policy Setting
Workshop
14 –16 December
2016
Apia, Samoa
1st Agribusiness
Festival
Promote linkages
amongst productive
sectors
9 – 11 November
2016
Port Vila, Vanuatu
First Pacific
Week of
Agriculture
16 – 20 October
2017
Port Vila, Vanuatu
Focused
Agritourism
Workshop
18 October 2017
Policy Setting
Workshop
Solomon Islands
21 – 22 November
Honiara,
Solomon Islands
Policy Setting
Workshop
Fiji Islands
23 February 2018 –
Nadi
26 February 2018-
Suva
12. • Greater focus on agritourism; important sectors in
most PICs
• Opportunities:
in promoting agri-nutrition / local produce vs
imports
local produce to increase in domestic market
• Need to identify local businesses to fill the imports gap
The Way Forward (Points to consider)
14. About the
Project
Leveraging the Development of Local
Food Crops and Fisheries Value Chains
for Improved Nutrition and Sustainable
Food Systems In the Pacific Islands
CTA IFAD and EU Funded
Project Goal?
Strengthen capacity for strategies and
programmes development
To enable more access to nutritious
and healthy foods.
14
15. 15
FEASIBILITY STUDY ON COLLECTION CENTRES IN RURAL AREAS
• Recommendation of 2015 Agribusiness Forum
Outcome
• Collection centres are to function as buying agents
from farmers in rural and remote areas for fruits
and vegetables supplied to hotels and
supermarkets
• Study conducted by Joes Farm and funded by CTA
and SPC.
• Report is currently being finalized for publication.
16. 16
PROMOTING THE USE OF LOCALLY PRODUCED FOOD AND COOKING METHODS AND
CHEFS FOR DEVELOPMENT
Launch of the Kana Vinaka
Book
CHEFS FOR DEVELOPMENT TRAINING: 18TH-19TH OCTOBER, 2016
17. 17 QUALITY ASSURANCE, CERTIFICATION AND BUSINESS RESILIENCE:
PIPSO and HACCP
Australia (Fiji) Ltd signed an
MOU
Business disaster resilience toolkit launched in
partnership with SPC, FBDRC, EU and ACP Group of
States
18. 18
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCIAL TRAINING FOR SMEs
Financial Management Training for SMEs Business Development Training for SMEs
19. 19
CONCLUSION
More can be done in the areas of…..
1. Farm to table initiatives across the region
2. Linkages between tourism sector and other sectors with Agriculture
3. Support services for technical and capacity building of Tourism and
Agriculture sector
4. Support capacity building of local chefs and hotels
5. Support development of value added, quality and branded products
6. Clustering and Collection Centers
7. Certification – HACCP and Organic
8. Starting a Business Ranking
Our CEO and the PIPSO team sends their best wishes for the Tuvalu government in the agri-tourism policy setting workshop;
PIPSO would also like to thank you CTA, Mereia, Tepola and her team and the government of Tuvalu for the great effort in the organizing and allowing PIPSO to present on the Development of Agri-Tourism in the Pacific.
Tuvalu and her people continues to grow from my last visit in 2007.
I felt at home when I arrived into Funafuti yesterday and people have been friendly.
PIPSO aims to promote the growth of Pacific businesses
Work with National Private Sector Organisation (NPSO) - Chamber of Commerce and Industry
NPSOs - advocate for the interests of the private sector at the country level and participate and contribute to the policy development and strategies for private sector development.
Tourism is the backbone of many Pacific economies.
Based on a report by The World Bank the total tourism receipts for PICs in 2013 were US$1.4 billion.
Tourism receipts can give a clearer picture of how the tourism sector is performing within an economy.
Agriculture and fisheries is equally important in Pacific economies.
Take a look at the contribution to GDP trend for the Government of Tuvalu over the last 3 years.
There is a somewhat consistency in the developments of the 3 sectors.
Linking the 3 sectors of agriculture, fisheries and tourism with initiatives or activities such as agri-aqua-tourism has the potential opportunity for diversification and trade growth.
Pacific Agritourism Week (28 June 2015) which recommended policy actions at national and regional level - CTA, PIPSO and SPC organised a First Pacific Agribusiness Forum, in July 2015 in Denarau, Fiji.
Key outcomes included:
Need to have Tourism and Agriculture policies developed separately;
Need for capacity building of Key stakeholders
Need for Product development support in the Pacific
Followed by the Policy setting workshop in Vanuatu in May 2016. –
Key outcomes included:
Establishment of an Agritourism Taskforce to increase the supply of local primary products to the domestic market.
Recommendation to have education programmes featuring the use of local food and its nutritional value be strengthened.
2nd Pacific Agribusiness Forum held in Apia, Samoa from 29 August to 1 September 2016
Included in the forum were:
Pacific Women in Agribusiness workshop
Launch of the CTA IFAD PIPSO Project
Chefs Training Programme – local foods and contemporary cuisine
Notable actions was the Mapping of women-led agribusinesses and SMEs – areas needed for training and opportunities for development and support.
Vanuatu Government organized the First Agribusiness Festival
Focus was on:
Awareness of need to develop tourist attractions and distinctive tourism destination branding .
promote local fresh and processed food.
Followed by another consultative national Policy setting workshops was organised in Samoa which led to concrete policy measures.
Key outcomes included:
Recommendations to establish an Agri-tourism Plan for Samoa supported with strong integrated policies from Agriculture, Tourism and Trade.
Private and public partnerships are being developed aimed at increasing investment in tourism markets through chain efficiency.
Commitment by governments with PIPSO, CTA and IFAD for fundraising proposals.
First Pacific Week of Agriculture -
A focused agritourism workshop to share lessons learned and take stock on progress made in serving tourism markets in selected countries was held on 18th October 2017
Key recommendations and outcome included:
Harmonisation of agriculture, trade and tourism policies at all levels
Promote sound sustainability and investments into technology in terms of processing facilities, transport and infrastructure development
Accelerate training on food safety standards and certification for farmers and processors
Promote food tourism, support Pacific cuisine branding and enhance local chefs skills in sourcing food locally.
Followed by another consultative national Policy setting workshops was organised in the Solomon Islands which resulted in
Key recommendations include:
Development of an Agritourism Plan for Solomon Is.
Development of a framework for an Agritourism Taskforce which will be responsible for putting together the agritourism action plan and develop the synergies with all key government ministries and stakeholders.
Building the farm to table linkages
Building Food Tourism which includes the use of local foods in menus
Developing attractions and tours.
Value addition of products –reduction of waste and making use of surpluses.
Food Safety standards. HACCP certification and other certifications etc. are important for agri-tourism
Capacity building for product development, marketing and branding.
Followed by another consultative national Policy setting workshops was organised in the Fiji Islands which resulted in key recommendations as follows:
Having champions/role models in agri-tourism that can play the lead role in showing how things are to be done
Culinary schools, like Catering (FNU) must include a curriculum on local cuisine (fusion of local and international flavors).
Need to challenge the banking industry to revisit their financing model
Importance of farming clusters and the need to organise farmers in this manner.
Information and technology and its importance in agri-tourism initiatives.
The recent national Policy setting workshops was organised in the Tonga on the 7th and 8th of August 2018
Key recommendations as follows:
Need to establish an agri-fish-tourism taskforce or committee;
Develop an agri-fish-tourism plan and monitoring framework.
Development of agri-tours and attractions.
Capacity building for farmers and farmers organisation which includes product development, value chain supply, processing, value additions, packaging, food safety certifications and marketing
Chefs development and promotion of food festivals.
Financing support through the Tonga Development Bank to assist SMEs in agri-fish-tourism sector
In 2007, Agri Tourism Development Centre launched Training and skills development programs with the state of Maharashtra in India.
It started with 52 farmers and has grown since then to 328 Agri tourism centres across 30 Districts in Maharashtra,
This has helped to conserve, enhance the village environment, village traditions and culture, customs, village arts and handicrafts.
Agri tourism model gives the authentic experiences to the visitors by showcasing village culture, agriculture, traditions that has helped gain sustainable supplementary income source and generated local employment.
In Croatia, a research was conducted in all Croatian counties on a random sample of 250 small and medium hospitality enterprises.
The survey was conducted in 2012 and highlight the status and capabilities of networking between small and medium hospitality enterprises and agricultural producers.
Conclusion:
Importance of linkage between small and medium hospitality enterprises with agriculture producers.
This ensures that the local food is placed on the tourist market and farmers are able enrich the tourist offer.
Aqua Tourism In Kerala, India:
Aqua tourism is being practiced in Kerala, India.
The fish ponds and canals around the farms in Kerala including a mangrove island are ideal for aqua tourism. The Fish Farm has 46 acres of water body with 3 blocks of fish culture ponds.
Tourists can enjoy pedal boating, speed boating and witness fish jumping at north block of farm
The sea food restaurant attached to the farm is run by a women self help group selected under SGSY project of Central Govt. Special dishes are made from farm fresh fishes, prawns and crabs for tourists enjoyment.
There needs to be a greater focus on agritourism recognising that these sector are important in most Pacific Island countries.
There are opportunities for agritourism work/support to link to broader agribusiness activities in the countries, especially in promoting agrinutrition, and increasing supplies to the domestic market
promoting use of local produce and value added products, and also culinary tourism.
food imports are high in the Pacific Island countries which is to cater also for the hospitality and tourism sectors – promoting agribiz to increase local production and reduce imports.
There is also a need to identify where local businesses can make the most of opportunities to fill that imports gap.
Launched at the 2nd Agribusiness Forum in Apia, Samoa - Promoting Nutritious Food Systems in the Pacific -
CTA IFAD and EU Funded
Membership : Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. potential and opportunities for shared learning to the other Pacific island countries.
Project Coordination Unit – in Netherlands (CTA) and Fiji (PIPSO)
Project Goal:
To strengthen the capacity of Pacific Island Governments, farmer and private sector organisations, and sub-regional institutions to develop strategies and programmes, to enable people to increase their access to nutritious and healthy foods.
Recommendation of 1st Agribusiness Forum - Private sector business – Joes farm would set up collection centres on salads, fruits and vegetables in rural areas. JF would handle transportation, marketing and distribution to hotels and supermarkets.
The study was completed in 2016 and Joes Farm established a cluster of farmers and based on their strengths he was able to establish the collection centres whilst they only focus on their farming.
If other countries are interested in the feasibility study – may contact PIPSO.
Outcome of 2015 Agribusiness Forum
PROMOTING THE USE OF LOCALLY PRODUCED FOOD AND COOKING METHODS
Promoting and advocating the consumption of local produce and contemporary island cuisine to support local farmers and agribusinesses.
Facilitated by Robert Oliver and Collin Chung
Aimed at increasing linkages between agriculture and tourism by training chefs to use and adapt local, South Pacific cooking to modern cuisines
PIPSO and HACCP Australia (Fiji) Ltd will work together to assist companies in the Pacific that wish to attain HACCP certification for their products that are to be sold domestically and internationally
Business Disaster Resilience Toolkit:
Partnership with Pacific Community, Fiji Business Disaster Resilience Council, European Union and ACP Group of States.
An interactive toolkit outlining the devastating impact disaster causes on the region’s private sector:
The toolkit identifies ways to reduce it and information on how to create long-term plans for business owners.
PIPSO provides Financial Management and Business Development Training for Small and Micro Enterprises.
This presents an opportunity to work with agribusinesses to address their business development issues such as basic financial management and book keeping, pricing and marketing their products, including developing business plans and annual work plan.
PIPSO believes that more can be done in:
Reducing importation of fruits and vegetables in hotels and hospitality sector by supporting farm to table initiatives across the region.
Strategic Policies development and collaboration
Providing capacity building and training such as Business Development, Financial Management, HACCP Certification, Business Disaster Resilience Training.
Promote and enhance the Hotel and Restaurant industry on the use and benefits of local foods and teaching skills on incorporating and adapting local foods into their menus
Certification and marketing – development of good quiality food safety and labelling legislation
The concept clustering in the Pacific is ingrained in our culture and needs to be utilized in agribusiness sector. The establishment of collection centers will greatly assist in reducing associated costs of doing business.
Greater partnership with POETCom to support organic certification for farmers – Organic eco tourism: managed in accordance to principles of eco-tourism, environmental protection, conservation, culture, natural materials – tool for sustainable development.
Business Development issues – cost and ease of doing business etc - Outcome of Forum Economic Ministers Meeting was for each NPSO/Chamber to have an MOU with their government at national level in working towards Private, Public Partnership and PIPSO is assisting with the process.