Repurposing agricultural support policies for shared prosperity in rural Fiji

Abstract

Notwithstanding the increasing place of tourism exports, the rural sector and its agricultural production remain important contributors to Fiji's economy. But their contribution is compromised by policies and institutions that distort the farm sector's resource use, with too many resources employed by sugar and livestock producers at the expense of other farmers and producers of non-farm products. Subsidies to the sugar industry could be used instead to boost investment in rural public goods such as infrastructure and agricultural research. That would benefit a much larger proportion of rural people, many of whom are below the poverty line. So too would a lowering of tariffs on imports of meat and milk products. And by thereby lowering food prices in urban areas, such re-purposing of support would benefit their poorest households most. It would also lower the prices of high-protein livestock products and nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables, which could well improve nutrition and health.