In his maiden speech, the new Agriculture minister, Inia Seruiratu, has painted a rosy picture of what he’s going to do to boost agricultural output but he should have started with the facts of how much agricultural output has declined under Bainimarama. Rice went from 14370 tonnes a year in 2007 to 7914 tonnes in 2011. The Bureau of stats have published no new figures for the years after that. Goat production has slumped from 969 tonnes to 134 tonnes. Copra and coca have almost disappeared altogether. Most agricultural products have shrunk, with chicken and egg production the only products to have increased and kept pace with population growth. And this is because all the people who used to like beef and goat every now and then can no longer afford the luxury.
Fijilive October 16, 2014 Unlock potential, reduce import bills: Seruiratu