Farmers concerns to be heard by cabinet-approved committee

Farmers in the non-sugar sector will have their voices heard on policy and legislative issues that affect them through a cabinet-endorsed Facilitation Committee for Agriculture.

The Fiji Crop and Livestock Council (FCLC) is represented on the Committee.

The formation of the Committee was approved by Cabinet in December last year. FCLC’s membership means its associations and respective farmer members will have an opportunity to directly submit their concerns to top-level decision makers more efficiently through the Council’s membership.

Addressing the agenda item at the FCLC’s first Council meeting in January, Council Chairman Mr. Simon Cole Cole said:

This, along with MOUs with the Ministry of Agriculture and Biosecurity of Fiji means we have access to the highest levels of government because government wants us to be there. They want to talk to the farmers.

We are the bridge between the farmers and government. Government is opening the door to us so we are going to make use of this opportunity. This is our role, to explain the business of agriculture to the Committee and the issues that farmers are talking about.

FCLC lobbies government on behalf of non-sugar farmers.

One result of the Council’s successful lobbying has been the reduced duty concessions on agricultural products, an intervention that was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance in 2015 and successful interventions in the pig and dairy industry.