(??????) ?????? (????????) ?????????????? ???? ???????????????? ???? ????????-???????? ?????????????? ???? ????????

(Suva, Fiji) The Consumer Council of Fiji and the FIRST Programme, a policy assistance facility implemented in partnership by the European Union (EU), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the government of Fiji, conducted an edifying three tier panel discussion on ‘The role of non-traditional groups of actors in the Agri-food systems transformation for more sustainable, healthy and affordable diets in Fiji’ as part of the World Food Day celebrations at the holiday Inn in Suva today.

Officially opening the event, the Head of Section for Economic Cooperation, Investment and Agriculture at the European Union Delegation for the Pacific, Ms Barbara Riksen stressed the EU’s continued commitment in addressing key challenges in the agricultural food systems in the Pacific including in Fiji.

“In order to transform agri-food systems for more sustainable, healthy and affordable diets in Fiji, a holistic approach should be adopted. A wide array of national and international stakeholders are therefore called to contribute from their distinctive mandates. In this, both Fiji and the European Union share the same ambition. The same multi-stakeholder approach is adopted in Europe’s “Farm to Fork Strategy – For a fair, healthy and environmental-friendly food system”. This Strategy forms the foundation of cooperation programmes between Fiji and the European Union,” said Ms Riksen.

CCoF Chief Executive Officer Ms Seema Shandil who was one of the panellists at the event emphasized the crucial role which consumers play in transforming agri-food systems and called on consumers to make smart and conscious decisions.

“Consumers must be at the heart of solutions. More than 7.7 billion consumers worldwide hold the power to shift 100-year-old consumption patterns to meet the needs for a better future. As they hold the power to shift their demand to environmentally and socially responsible and nutritious products,” stated Ms Shandil.

Ms Shandil further added that consumer inclusion can lead to manufacturers bringing new products to market, empower farmers and input companies to adopt practices to meet health and nutritional needs, pressure governments to put the right policies in place, and motivate investors to invest in companies producing these products. – so if included in dialogues they can and have the power to influence the sustainable transformation of our agri-food systems through their market demand, sometimes determining what food will be produced and by what methods.

Meanwhile the FAO Assistant Representative Ms Joann Young has emphasized the need for cross sectoral collaboration to address the challenges and hurdles existing in our agri-food systems.

“From Government bodies, farmers, manufacturers, retailers, consumers, academic to media; we all need to work in tandem as transforming our agri-food systems follows the concept of the threelegged stool; even if one actor or issue is not taken into account; all else can potentially fail,” stated Ms Young.

FAO’s Policy Officer Ms Itziar Gonzalez during her address at the event echoed that the current agri-food systems globally are underperforming not being able to provide sustainable, healthy and affordable diets for all, and the Fiji agri-food systems are not the exception.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and other concomitant crises, as for example those related to natural phenomena, have affected the people’s lives due to impacts to the tourism, labour market, remittances and international trade. But they may offer an opportunity to rethink the agri-food system and find transformative solutions to emerge and build back better,” added Ms Gonzalez.

About the panel discussion

One main outcome after the Fiji’s National Food System Dialogue have been spotlighting the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration with all food systems players, since in this holistic transformation a wide array of national and international stakeholders is called to contribute from their distinctive mandates. Public sector through the ministries of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Health and Medical Services, Trade and Commerce, Education, Women and Children and Poverty Alleviation and Environment among others. Private sector and civil society including NGOs, FBOs and Academia and any other association with an interest in this transformative process.

With this in mind, this event aimed to deep dive into the role of three particular groups of actors: the academia, as a group that may provide innovative solutions and evidence from different fields of expertise for this positive transformation; the consumers, as key actors for this transformation from the demand perspective and the media, as those with an essential part to play in the dissemination of messages and raising awareness in the general public and consumers.

The idea was to explore how these groups of actors may engage more efficiently with others in this multi-sectoral transformation, identify entry points for their action and get a better understanding on current challenges for participation and best ways to address these challenges. A particular emphasis was placed on how to achieve a more inclusive local food system transformation, which gives voice and opportunities to women and youth as key actors and leaders across the agri-food system, as well as emphasize the importance of innovation.