Transcript The South Pacific Region - Asia

Pacific
Community
The South
Pacific Region
THE PACIFIC REGION – OCEAN OF ISLANDS
• Land area of 553,959 sq.km in 33mn sq.km of ocean
• Contains about 25,000 islands
• Ranging in size from small atolls to land masses the size of
Papua New Guinea (area of 462,840 sq km) – 83% of the
land area
• Home to 8mn people
• Predominantly rural population but rapid urbanization –
more than 40% in urban areas in a few countries
CHALLENGES FACING THE PACIFIC REGION
• Small populations and economies
• Weak institutional capacity in both public and private
sector
• Remoteness from international markets – high costs of
transportation
• Susceptibility to natural disasters and climate change
• Fragility of land and marine ecosystems
• Limited fresh water supply
• High import dependency
• Vulnerability to exogenous shocks
CONTEXT
• Uniqueness of the Pacific
• Food security
• Nutritional security – linked to health
problems – poor quality food – very high rate
of NCDs
• Need for improved livelihoods, especially for
farmers
PRIORITY RESEARCH NEEDS – DEALING
WITH ALL NR SECTORS
• Value-adding (inclusive) for niche markets
(domestic and export markets). Needs to be
considered within a value chain approach.
Assists issue of convenience food
• Crop improvement – supports value-adding
and climate change. Also for nutritional
superiority
• Climate change – mitigation and adaptation.
Modelling sadly lacking
PRIORITY RESEARCH NEEDS
• Participatory approaches to research and
extension – to develop an understanding of
different systems. To include innovation systems
• Policy to support agriculture for development;
• Community-based systems for managing
resources to ensure sustainable utilization and
maximizing productivity
• Biosecurity and Trade Facilitation - market access