It benefits many stakeholders across the value chain from farmers, processors, traders, retailers and exporters.
‘Ensuring the value chain for kava and kava products continues to provide equitable income for many in Fiji relies on first understanding how everyone interacts to make it work and where opportunities lie for improving these relationships and links’ said Sanfred Smith the General Manager of Fiji Kava.
Fiji’s agribusiness stakeholders today opened a Agribusiness Masterclass in Nadi to build capacity to do just this through training on the importance of value chain approaches and value chain analysis. Participants include representatives from academia, private and public sector, and non-governmental organisations.
‘Value chain approaches look at everyone involved in taking a product to market and how they interact. They start with looking at what the market wants and working backwards to support producers to deliver it rather than starting with the supply chain of what producers can supply’ Mr Craig Johns, one of the trainers,’ explained.
The six-day programme which supports the vision of the Pacific Agribusiness Research Development Initiative in its promotion of sustainable livelihood outcomes for Pacific Islands households will focus on the basic techniques of the value chain analysis and market research.
With an aim to focus on real-world research exercises and case studies with relevant field work, Dr.Lex Thomson of Pacific Agribusiness Research Development Initiative 2 (PARDI2) says the agribusiness masterclass will discuss and undertake participatory visits to firms in relevant agribusinesses and value chains.
‘We have a core team of specialists delivering the agribusiness master class in the next few days focusing on Honey, Fiji Red Papaya, Kava and Agritourism.
The agribusiness master class provides a platform for stakeholders to share research and development experiences and identify opportunities and partnerships in agribusiness development.
A panel of experts from the University of Adelaide, PARDI 2, University of the Sunshine Coast and the Pacific Island Farmers Organisation Network will deliver the masterclass funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.