The dry spell experienced in the Western Division has taught the Ministry of Agriculture and its stakeholders a lesson says Minister for Agriculture, Inia Seruiratu.

Mr Seruiratu said that a lot had to be invested mainly in terms of managing crop, livestock and delivering the services to people.

“We need the economy to continue to function well, there is a need of consistency in the market whether we are going through dry spells or any other catastrophe.,” he said.

“We still need to match the demands and of course worry of food security issues as well. There is a need for us to come up with better equipment, contingency plans so that we can plan for such situations if it arises in future.”

Mr Seruiratu said he was pleased with the overall efforts of his ministry officials.

“We are satisfied with our performance although there is always room for improvement. We are still working on the management and leadership but 2015 was an exciting year for us and challenging as well.

“We had set goals from the very beginning but as we progressed in the year, unforeseen circumstances came our way but we managed to look at the option as to how we can continue to deliver better particularly to our customers,” he said.

He added that 2016 would be more challenging because there was an additional fund from the Government.

“We need to set an organised system of production, marketing and looking at the whole value change,” he said.

Mr Seruiratu was was happy to see the bond shared between his ministry and other stake holders.

“I am quite happy with the level of performance by the Ministry officials and in close collaboration with our farmers and all stakeholders.

“Again these are the unforeseen circumstances which are beyond our control but it helps us to relook at our strategies ,” he said.

Mr Seruiratu said the challenge now is for the ministry to continue with building on the foundations laid in 2015 and take it forward.

Edited by Filipe Naigulevu

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