Fiji Livestock Sector Strategy has submitted a draft strategy to the Government and would be expected to provide a clearer medium term pathway for the sector.

This would also devise approaches to ensure the sustainability of Fiji Livestock Sector by the formulation of the proposed strategy.

Mr Chris Landon-Lane is the key strategist and a New Zealand based consultant, who was in Fiji under the auspices of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).

This was funded by the European Union-supported Pacific Agriculture Policy Project (PAPP). 

Mr Landon-Lane said luckily the industry and government had formed a livestock strategy framework working group.

“We had a forum in May in which we came up with a list of issues; so the base assessment of the key concerns and the prioritization has to be done,” he said.

Mr Landon-Lane, who was once a livestock farmer with broad industry skills and technical knowledge, was also guided by the Fiji 2020 Agriculture Sector Policy agenda.

“I have adapted their thinking into the document. My role is to package it so it can be implementable and is also attractive for people to participate in it. The strategy would be a guiding document for government and potential donors.”

The project is about five years and the World Bank is in the process of preparing a livestock investment project for Fiji. They would be looking for this strategy to guide them through their priorities,” Mr Landon-Lane added.

While drafting the strategy, he said it needed to be attainable in Fiji, realistic and can be achieved within a five to 10-year period.