FHTA, 5 March 2020 – We may have loathed vegetables as children but we soon grow up to understand how healthy they are for us. An appreciation of fruit and vegetables and how delicious and nutritious they are, is made even better when they’re fresh and locally sourced.
The demand for locally grown produce has risen exponentially and a large chunk of that demand is from the tourism sector due to burgeoning visitor numbers and food tourism trends. The industry demands such a large amount of fresh produce, but because of low yields, seasonality and quality, the demand must be subsidised by imported produce.
A 2018 study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) found that in 2017, hotels and resorts in Fiji’s main tourism areas spent FJ$74.4 million on the procurement of fresh produce. Of which, 52 percent was spent on imported items. That is more than FJ$38.5 million of fresh produce that can be grown here in Fiji.
The fresh produce items on the list includes vegetables, fruit, dairy, packaged tropical juice, meat and seafood, especially prawns, fish and shellfish.
The IFC found that we have the potential to cut FJ$24.1 million of our import bill if we could focus our resources on growing and producing specific, high demand fresh produce locally. Their study analysed the purchasing patterns of Fiji’s hotels and the existing linkages between the tourism and agricultural sectors.
This was done in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism (MITT) and provided a deeper understanding of the challenges for resorts in sourcing fresh, good quality produce in the required quantities and providing more locally influenced menus for visitors. It also highlighted how much demand had risen with the growth in tourism and how this had far surpassed the supplies available from farmers.
There is great potential in strengthening the links between the three large sectors of tourism, agriculture and aquaculture to maximise economic benefits to the local economy.
Fiji should be able to boast a far superior locally influenced menu as one key outcome of having a multi-cultural society is the variety of food options we can either cook, find at restaurants or share with friends and family.
However, collective action is required to ensure that local goods and produce are more readily available, fully appreciated and utilized by local chefs and communities. A food revolution needs to take place and this requires a change of mindset, a focus on locally grown and produced food as well as innovative ways to substitute locally available produce in local and international menus.
This week, MITT and MoA is working with the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association (FHTA) to showcase innovative Fijian menus to interested budding and experienced local chefs in the Northern Division.
The Contemporary Island Cuisine Training is an annual event that has been hosted in every division around Fiji in the last few years. As a Ministry of Tourism initiative to promote the use of locally grown produce on resort menus and beverage lists, it also connects farmers and communities with chefs, while introducing Fiji’s young chefs to new ways to treat local produce. As they understand the resorts’ demand, farmers are then encouraged to plant and supply local produce according to this demand and in doing so, generate more local income for their own livelihoods and their communities.
23 participants from Northern resorts, restaurants, caterers and women groups are getting valuable exposure to Chef Colin Chung’s now famous, innovative cooking skills.
Colin, with assistance from Greg Cornwall, published an award-winning cookbook, “”Kana Vinaka”” and this initiative has developed into Greg and Colin working with the Ministry of Education and training Trainers, Teachers, Chefs and Home Cooks, in the food service sector, both here in Fiji and the Pacific Islands.
The Contemporary Island Cuisine Training is 5 full days of menu planning, practical application and food crafting. The scope of the course runs the gamut of the food service menu and includes appetisers, mains, desserts, and snacks. Colin also shares his thoughts on local substitutes for potatoes in typical dishes as well as the most interesting and delectable vegetarian options.
Participants always enjoy the hands-on learning of new ways to do old dishes.
These are small steps that need to be repeated far more often to grow our agricultural and aquacultural opportunities that have been identified by the IFC study. Better access to fresh produce would reduce food costs in tourism, provide economic benefits to farmers and the communities they are grown in.
It simply needs more appetite from all the stakeholders concerned.
By: Fantasha Lockington – CEO, FHTA
Published in the Fiji Times on 5 March February 2020
