Pacific pledge to harness agritourism for rural development

 An event aimed at promoting links between agriculture and other productive sectors in the Pacific islands has resolved to set up a regional initiative to drive plans for developing agribusiness and agritourism.

The Nadi Declaration, made at the close of the Agribusiness Forum: Linking the agrifood sector to the tourism-related markets, pledged to launch a Regional Agritourism Steering Group, whose first task is to draw up a Pacific Work Plan for agritourism by September 1, 2015. The Forum, held in Fiji from July 1 to 3, was organised by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), together with the Pacific Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). With participants who included small-scale producers, chefs, development experts and public and private sector officials, the Agribusiness Forum explored the potential of synergies between agriculture and the tourism industry to build sustainable economic growth and resilience in small island communities. The Forum was held as part of the Pacific Community Agritourism Week, which ran from June 29 June to July 3.

Tourism is currently experiencing strong growth in the Pacific, with revenues from this sector predicted to nearly double to US$4 billion (€3.58 billion) by 2019. But incomes from farming and fishing are declining and cheap food imports are soaring, with negative impacts on public health and local economies. Seeking to address these challenges, and the opportunities posed by growing visitor numbers to the Pacific region, the Regional Agritourism Steering Group will be made up of members that include CTA, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), PIPSO, SPC, the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the University of the South Pacific (USP), as well as organisations in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean. Experiences from these two regions, where significant progress has been made in some areas in developing agribusiness and agritourism to benefit rural communities, are considered a valuable source of information and learning for the Pacific region. Many of these African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) small island states share common features and constraints, including size, remote location, fragile economies and vulnerability to natural hazards.

http://www.thedominican.net/2015/07/agri-tourism-for-rural-development.html