Vanuatu

Research Priorities

Food and nutritional security

This subprogram has two major emphases. First, it aims to develop and implement strategies to underpin improved and sustainable productivity and quality of food staples and high-value horticultural crops, with a particular emphasis on ICM including crop pests and diseases. The second emphasis is to increase household income through market-driven diversification of production by exploitation of new market niches, genetic diversity, new products and value-adding.

Agriculture, fisheries and forestry resource management and development

This program aims at developing and implementing strategies to sustainably manage, use and value-add to natural resources associated with agriculture, forestry and fisheries production. The fisheries project cluster has two focuses: freshwater aquaculture and mariculture of sedentary species, which provide greater opportunity for income generation at the local level; and management of near-shore artisanal fisheries. The forestry projects relate to emerging value-adding industry opportunities for plantation timbers such as teak, sandalwood, whitewood and Flueggea, as well as research of processing opportunities for coconut wood from senile plantations.

Agriculture, fisheries and forestry value chains

This program aims to support the identification and development of opportunities for domestic, inter-island and international trade for agricultural, fisheries and forest products, with a view to increasing economic growth in PICs. It includes a range of regional and individual-country-based activities including market research, strengthening of agribusiness linkages, analysing and increasing the efficiency of value chains, and identifying and developing value-adding opportunities. There are a number of opportunities for underpinning other development-focused programs, for example the EU-funded Increasing Agricultural Commodity Trade in the Pacific; providing R&D support for the PHAMA AusAID-funded program; and providing research innovation to support implementation of the FAO-managed Food Security and Sustainable Likelihoods Program.