Explore Official Dialogue Feedback

The main findings of the National Dialogue are listed below with their concise details: (1) Nutrition and Diet: The high cases of NCDs and mortality rate of children under 5 are the major national concerns and was agreed that the Ministry of Health is not the only Ministry to deal with issues related to poor nutrition, NCDs, and premature deaths of children under 5 years. This is the shared role of all key actors in the Food System - all Ministries are therefore encouraged to be more proactive in factoring Nutrition in their their programmes and Ministerial Plans. Changing the mindset of the p... Read moreeople is the major challenge especially in changing the eating habit and diet of the people - requiring all actors to come up with a way forward to change this in their respective programmes. It was also agreed in the National Dialogue that Nutrition is well factored and included in the school curriculum for the Primary school level through to senior level. Teaching healthy foods to the young children as source of good health and productive life is lacking and this needs to be strengthened immediately. Internalizing the value of eating health green and blue foods amongst the young is the key for healthy future of the country. Also the Dialogue saw the Church as the one closest to the people. It can move its communities and people so more consultations with the church-based groups is seen urgent so church leaders can also include healthy food values in their church and social teachings and programmes - and to move their members into healthy activities and taking healthy foods. Fisheries and Farming activities in the outer islands need to be adequately supported by Government. The provision of farming materials, equipment or tools, fishing gear and capacity building need to be more regular and more proactive, the access to freight levy assistance need to be reviewed so more green and blue produce be covered and more farmers and fishermen can easily access the fund. Also the transport of produce from outer islands need to be synchronized where possible so both the farmers and fishermen can be adequately served rather than each having their own transport arrangements. Other online marketing strategies need to be quickly developed so produce or fish delivery can be done online. Also the food import needs to be properly managed and controlled with incentives given to local producers to trade off those imported foods. In this way the imports will be regularly reviewed and reduced as local production increases. For fisheries, more capacity building is needed in the area of cooking edible varieties of seaweed so abundant in Kiribati, value adding of fish products including transshipped fish in order to reduce the high imports of canned fish. Food processing of pandanus and other vegetables like breadfruits need to be pursued immediately. More support needs to be stepped up towards coconut virgin oil and toddy sugar productions, egg, chicken and piggery operations. (2) On the Nature and Resilience Tracks, the National Dialogue also agreed to employ new climate smart farming technologies with the active leadership of the Agriculture and the technical and financial support of the Global Green Growth Institute and with the active involvement of NGOs. The harsh atoll conditions of the islands in Kiribati - compounded with the impacts of climate change would benefit much from this climate smart techniques after a number of successful trials. This technique therefore need to be quickly disseminated to the farmers and also to be trialed to mangrove planting in coastal eroded areas. To be included in the capacity building is the making of compost so home organic waste can be meaningfully utilized to clean home areas and to grow more healthy foods. The training on preparation of foods from traditional food crops needs to be advocated and included in the school curriculum as well. (3) To strengthen the livelihood of the people of Kiribati; all players of the abovementioned activities need to work closely than ever. Read less

Kiribati saw it best and cost effective to pair up the 4 Action Tracks: Nutrition and Diet, Nature and Resilience, while letting the Livelihood Track stand alone on its own. The 5 key actors (Agriculture, Fisheries, Nutrition, Commerce, and National Disaster Office) also named here as a Technical Group saw the linkages and some overlaps between the 2 pairs and so they agreed to focus on them. It was also perceived that the standalone Track - Livelihood - would serve as the optimum goal if all gaps in the paired Action Tracks are identified and practically solved. The Technical Group therefore ... Read moredivided itself into 3 major working groups of Action Tracks - Nutrition and Diet (Agriculture, Nutrition, Commerce and Fisheries), Nature and Resilience (Environment, National Disaster, and Agriculture), and Livelihood (Agriculture, Fisheries, Nutrition, Environment, and Commerce). These 3 working groups put together their resources - information and data in order to present the current situation in each Action Track and at the same time to see the issues and challenges faced and then to recommend best ways forward that would be compatible with other pathways from other 2 groups. The ultimate focus therefore is to enable all actors in the Food System to recognize themselves and to see the value of their roles. At the same time, the focus is to unite these actors and direct them to pathways that would transform the Food System - pathways that would meet the ambitious UNSDG Targets and pathways that would foster the health of the I-Kiribati person and enrich his/her livelihood in his/her fragile atoll setting. Read less

Environmental sustainability has been identified as the major divergence point. In one hand, increased production and productivity is required to develop the domestic industry, in the other hand an increased use of agrochemicals is damaging to the environment. To overcome that, it is important that research is taken to access the levels to which the damages created by the use of agrochemicals are not more costly than the benefits returned from that increased use of agrochemicals. Taxes from agrochemicals could also be used to interventions aiming at rebuilding ecosystems.

The main problems identified are:. • Low levels of production and productivity; • Limited processing capacity for primary and by-products, which does not allow for the capture of additional value and complementarity of production systems. For example, in the livestock sector, the sale of live animals and dependence on imports of meat and, above all, meat products (eg milk, yogurt, cheese and others) has been common; • Excessive production costs due to dependence on input imports. In certain sectors, such as the fish farming sector, the dependence on feed has been exclusively on imports a... Read morend with high costs for producers; The main solutions proposed to improve the value chains of food systems are related to: • Greater promotion of the use of improved inputs and mechanization; • Promotion of processing with a focus on the family and commercial scale; • Establishing legislative incentives and financing for local production of inputs (eg fish feed) and at lower prices compared to current import prices (CIF); • Specific lines of financing, with subsidized rates for agriculture, livestock and fishing; Read less

The main problems identified are summarized below. • Excessive production costs due to dependence on input imports. In certain sectors, such as the fish farming sector, the dependence on feed has been exclusively on imports and with high costs for producers; • Lack of sufficient support infrastructure, often limited to very small areas compared to the potential (such as the case of infrastructure for irrigation); The main solutions proposed to improve the value chains of food systems are related to: • Promotion of processing with a focus on the family and commercial scale; • Establishi... Read moreng legislative incentives and financing for local production of inputs (eg fish feed) and at lower prices compared to current import prices (CIF); • Specific lines of financing, with subsidized rates for agriculture, livestock and fishing; • Expansion of support infrastructure coverage and improvements/rehabilitation of existing ones (for example, irrigation channels, access roads, among others); Read less

The main problems identified are summarized below. • Low levels of production and productivity; • Limited processing capacity for primary and by-products, which does not allow for the capture of additional value and complementarity of production systems. For example, in the livestock sector, the sale of live animals and dependence on imports of meat and, above all, meat products (eg milk, yogurt, cheese and others) has been common; • Lack of sufficient support infrastructure, often limited to very small areas compared to the potential (such as the case of infrastructure for irrigation); ... Read more• Weak commercial link between sellers (producers) and buyers, which often results in weak bargaining power on the part of producers; The main solutions proposed to improve the value chains of food systems are related to: • Greater promotion of the use of improved inputs and mechanization; • Promotion of processing with a focus on the family and commercial scale; • Establishing legislative incentives and financing for local production of inputs (eg fish feed) and at lower prices compared to current import prices (CIF); • Expansion of support infrastructure coverage and improvements/rehabilitation of existing ones (for example, irrigation channels, access roads, among others); • Promotion of fairs in the local market with the purpose of massifying the connection between sellers and buyers, especially wholesalers. Read less

Low production levels and processing have been identified as the main struggling points in food systems’ value chains. Some of the major root causes pointed out include the excessive production costs, a lack of sufficient supporting infrastructures and poor linkage between sellers and buyers. For example, in terms of production costs, it has been identified the very high costs associated with feed for fish in aquaculture systems. The feed is supplied exclusively from imports, due to its unavailability in the domestic market. Support infrastructures such as for irrigation are also limited to ... Read morevery small areas comparatively to the existing irrigation potential. Processing is also an important issue that limits the capitalization of value-addition as well as complementarity from the production systems. For instance, most of the livestock kept are sold as live animals while the animal derivative products (e.g., milk, yogurt, cheese and others) are mainly imported. The major solutions proposed to improve food systems’ value chains are related to the: 1. Provision of incentives for locally produced inputs (e.g., fish feed) and at a lower price compared to the current import CIF prices; 2. Promotion of processing focusing on both an artisanal and industrial scales; 3. Expansion of support infrastructures coverage and improvements/rehabilitation for the existing ones (e.g., irrigation channels, access roads, and others); 4. Specific financing schemes, with bonified tax rates, for agriculture, livestock and fisheries; 5. Promotion of local market fairs linking sellers and buyers, mainly wholesalers. Read less

This Dialogue was held on June 15 in the city of Xai-xai, Gaza province, focusing on action tracks 3 and 4 (boosting positive production for nature and promoting equitable livelihoods), the session had as its theme “Contributing to the consolidation of food systems value chains” .