Vanuatu is getting an additional 10 million Euros (VT1.25 billion) from the European Union’s interactive programme for its agriculture sector.
The assistance is a top-up to the 31 million Euros that Brussels had approved in 2014 in its national indicative programme for Vanuatu that will cover the period from 2014 to 2020.
The visiting EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, told a press conference at the National Convention Centre in Port Vila today that 25 million Euros from the 31 million earmarked for this interactive programme in Vanuatu will be channeled to rural development and sustainable agriculture.
Vanuatu's economy is primarily agricultural; 80% of the population is engaged in agricultural activities that range from subsistence farming to smallholder farming of coconuts and other cash crops. Copra is by far the most important cash crop (making up more than 35% of the country's exports), followed by timber, beef, and cocoa. Kava root extract exports also have become important.
Despite a ban by EU due to be lifted soon as a result of legal action, should soon see kava exports growing again.
And this morning, the EU Commissioner emphasized the importance of achieving agricultural development initiatives through partnership, which he said reflect the global sustainable development goals agenda.
He said EU believes that a lot could be achieved through partnership and that the EU and New Zealand’s past experience in partnership, like in renewable energy, has proved to be successful.
“We are here today with our New Zealand colleague in order to strengthen, to prove the efficiency of the development assistance through partnership. It shows it could be much stronger through partnership when we do better planning and programming of our contributions to economic and social development of our partnering countries.
He also reflected on the successful renewable energy programmes for Pacific island nations that were accomplished through EU’s partnership with New Zealand government.
“We are expanding our partnership from renewable energy to agriculture and we have marked Vanuatu to be the first to benefit from this collaboration’, the EU representative said.
“We see Vanuatu as a very important development partner, also a political partner and a regional partner in the Pacific and we will spare more effort in contributing to your country”, he said.
This evening, the EU Commissioner will be signing a joint declaration of cooperation in sustainable agriculture with Prime Minister Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas and the New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully.
McCully confirmed that New Zealand and the EU have a strong track record of working together with Pacific governments to deliver development gains.
The EU delegation is also visiting EU funded projects such as the Vanuatu agricultural Research and Technical Center and the Blue Hole on Santo Island – a high potential site for agro-tourism development.