The National Fruits and Vegetables Strategy is a national policy with a focus on assisting the implementation, coordination, monitoring of the national Agriculture Policy. The timeframe of the Plan is 10 years between 2017 and 2027. This Strategy aims at providing developmental and improvement support to the fruits and vegetable sector by taking systematic measures for enhancing the coordination and management of the sector.
The fruits and vegetable sector will be linked with the producer' cooperatives and the department of industry. Furthermore producers' cooperatives and associations will be organized around the centre of facilities such as storage, cooling, processing and collecting. Fiscal and market measures will be taken for farmers by providing extension services, credits and marketing support to encourage their involvement in the sector. Farmers will be trained on vegetable and fruit growing at all levels including pre- and post-harvesting, packaging, handling, transport, collection, and marketing.
In order to progressively and effectively manage the sector, a Fruits and Vegetables Industrial working group will be established. Specific funds and resources will be allocated for the coordination of the sector. The legislative framework will be developed for increased production and marketing of quality fruits and vegetables at all levels. Standards will be developed by the Vanuatu Bureau of Standards for all varieties of fruits and vegetables, as well as for quality, packaging, labelling and production. Laboratories will be established for quality control. Packaging system will be strengthened through licensing. Public awareness will be raised on the standards to ensure consumer protection. Enforcement, coordination, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for standards will be established. Proper seed and nursery facilitating centres and irrigation schemes will be established to produce high value products. Production capacity and quality of products in the fruits and vegetable sector will be increased through cost-effective methods and machinery, effective land planning and utilization system and marketing information and analysis. Furthermore Pest and diseases management will be integrated into the sector to ensure quality and quantity of the products. Research will be conducted to determine the level of soil fertility for the production of each variety of fruits and vegetables in high producing areas. The efficiency in the export markets will be increased by promoting high value seeds and seedlings. The linkage between domestic and foreign market demand and seed production will be strengthened.
Risk reduction strategies will be implemented throughout the whole value chain for the development of the fruits and vegetables sector in an environmentally sustainable manner. To this end, climate and disaster resilient nursery infrastructure will be constructed. High resilient fruits and vegetable varieties for cultivation will be determined within the research studies and moreover an Early Warning System will be established. Cool storage facilities for fruits and vegetables will be improved for preparedness to disaster and emergencies.
A Fruits and Vegetables Industrial Working Group will be established for monitoring and evaluation of the Strategy in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and other relevant stakeholders.