Problem overview:
International commitments: Import restrictions that European countries have imposed on agricultural goods from Pacific island countries is become increasingly intensive. However, Fiji has taken this limitation and turned it into a competitive opportunity. That is through conversion of production method to small-scale farming into organic farming.
Background in summary:
The sugar industry was experiencing problems from import restrictions: An environmentally astute market and quarantine restriction on pesticides in food threatens agricultural countries like Fiji that use toxic chemicals. The region cannot afford to be complacent with respect of international 'green' bans, which could damage certain exports of national significance.
The EU had been lobbying to reduce sugar imports from Fiji: The Fiji sugar industry, for which the EU is the major market, is currently at risk. The industry already faces the prospects of lower market prices. Superimposed on this is the pressure that the EU lobbying to reduce preferences for Fiji's sugar because of the unsustainable agricultural practices in marginal cane lands.
Fiji has turned trade barrier into market opportunity: Fortunately, Fiji's low input small holder sugar cane production systems would be amenable to conversion to organic production systems. A significant market now exists for certified organically grown and processed sugar, which receives considerable price premiums over conventional sugar.
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Good practice rating:
(1 for the best, 5 for the lowest score) |
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Sustainability
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Efficiency
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| 2 |
 Improvement in either the environment of economic condition with no harm to the other. |
2 |
Cost efficient. |
| 2 |
Sustainable over time (not one-off) |
Process |
| Adaptability |
- |
Participation of the community |
| 3 |
Location adaptability (can the project be done in other places?) |
- |
Participation of resource owners/users |
| 2 |
Socio-cultural adaptability. |
- |
Partnerships between various actors (Governments, NGO, Academia, Private) |
| 2 |
Level of development adaptability. |
- |
Degree of coordination and cooperation between government departments. |
| 2 |
Style of government adaptability. |
2 |
Ability to attract political interest/support |
| 2 |
Degree of decentralization adaptability. |
- |
Procedures for feedback and review. |
Comments on this example:
Organic cultivation should be more widely promoted, not only for trade advantages, but also for safer and healthier consumption of the World population. See also Sri Lanka's Organic Cultivation of Cashew Nuts.
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Sustainability of the project:
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Adaptability of the project to other situations:
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Location adaptability: The same strategy that Fiji adopted for its Sugar Industry could also be adaptable to other industries too, as in the case of hardwood produced in Pacific Island countries. A ban on Pacific island hardwoods has already been proposed by Australia and New Zealand environmental groups because of the perceived exploitation of landowners, poor logging practices and unsustainable nature of the industry in PNG and the Solomon Islands. The appropriate strategy for the PIC timber industries is to convert this adverse international attention to a competitive advantage. Establishing a verifiable reputation that adopts environmentally sustainable practices would do this.
| Process of decision making and implementation: |
International commitments: Somehow, the sugar industry in Fiji has no option but to comply with the standards set in Europe, because the economy of the country relies so much on the sugar industry and the industry itself relies on the demand from foreign markets. But Fiji is not alone in this disadvantage position. Other developing countries in the ESCAP region are also facing the same challenge for their export industry. As we know, there have been numerous standards set by developed countries that import goods from developing country, either for the purpose of sincere quality and standard control, or for the purpose of introducing trade barriers. However, if we look on the bright side, these standards are one way of motivating developing countries to improve their production and product standards, so that in the future, goods produced from developing countries would be up to par with goods from developed countries but with lower production cost.
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