The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development of the Republic of Kiribati, will hold an inception and upgrading strategy workshop on 4-5 July in Tarawa. Although the project started in 2020, this official national launch event was hampered by travel restrictions and border closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The FAO “Sustainable Fish Value Chains for Small Island Developing States (SVC4SIDS)” project aims to enhance the domestic tuna value chain in Tarawa, Nikunau and Makin islands, and the lobster value chain in Kiritimati island.

Given the critical role that the 2 value chains play in sustaining livelihoods and unique identities of project island communities, the inception and upgrading strategy workshop in Tarawa will actively engage local stakeholders to propose upgrading options and strategies while enabling ownership and facilitating empowerment.  Previous project activities and stakeholder engagement included a tuna value chain mapping workshop in May 2022 and stock-taking mission, food safety and value addition trainings in Nikunau and Makin islands in June and July 2022.