Kreetika Kumar 
Minister for Agriculture Vatimi Rayalu
The government is mandated to grow the agriculture sector and boost on-farm productivity.
Minister for Agriculture Vatimi Rayalu says to grow the industry the sector needs to encourage the workforce through further training on formal skills recognition.
He adds that the ministry intends to address skills shortages and other issues through Agricultural Technical Vocational Education Training.
“The challenges and gaps in the agriculture sector include the aging workforce, slow uptake of skills, limited extension advisory support, lack of recognition for investment in skills training, and lack of harmonized approaches and incentives for training, particularly for youths.”
Rayalu says the TVET program is important compared to the National Development Plan, which is already used successfully by several industries in Fiji, such as tourism construction, health, children’s education, and aged care training.
He adds that Agriculture TVET training on skills development of Fiji’s agricultural workforce is to increase farm productivity through demand-based technical vocational training such as the National Certificate in Agriculture Dairy Level 2 program, which will take TVET training to newer heights.
