Initiatives to help address the impact of the drought on rural communities in Fiji will be further strengthened with assistance from the European Union (EU) worth FJD 12.5million. The EU in partnership with Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, today jointly launched two projects which will enable the communities in the rural areas to cope and become more resilient to future El Niño events.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Christoph Wagner, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation for the Pacific, said '' In Fiji communities who depend exclusively on rain fed agriculture are highly affected by El Niño induced droughts. In particular, small-scale farmers are disproportionally impacted by extreme weather events. They are highly vulnerable and have little capacity to bounce back from shocks. Therefore, the European Union supports Fiji with two projects worth FJD 12.6 million building the resilience of communities and farmers to climate change driven disasters''.

Mr. Joseph Nyemah, FAO Nutrition and Food Systems Officer for the Pacific emphasized, “that the EU, Government of Fiji, FAO and ADRA partnership on which this project is built is an exciting opportunity that other donors can leverage, not only in Fiji, but also across the Pacific sub-region in countering climate change induced food and nutrition insecurity. FAO will draw on its expertise as a global leader in the promotion of climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture to increase the resilience capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fiji crop and livestock farmers, with a particular focus on women”.
 
In his remarks, the Fiji Country Director for ADRA, Mr. Iliapi Tuwai, said ''In partnership with Government, EU, FAO and communities, we can learn to be resilient furthermore to support the most vulnerable such as women and children to improve their food security. Women’s involvement in agriculture at a subsistence level is reported to be higher than that of men in Fiji.  Our role and commitment in supporting the vulnerable will continue as we work together to support every efforts in the development of our nation''.

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