Tonga seeks donor partner

 TONGA is seeking a donor to fund its agriculture and fisheries sectors so it can participate in the commercial market.

The kingdom’s Agriculture Minister Semisi Fakahau told the Food and Agriculture Organisation South-West Agriculture Ministers’ meeting in Port Moresby yesterday that it did not have enough money to support its export in the commercial market.

He said the Tongan Government had come up with an initiative to allocate money specifically for the development of the agriculture and fisheries sectors.

“I want to inform the meeting, in particular referring to the information and technical papers presentation on improving domestic market linkages, that the money allocation is not enough for farmers and fishermen,” he said.

Fakahau said the money was transferred to the Development Bank but it is not a significant amount to support export in the commercial market.

“We realised the fact that our agriculture sector depends mainly on rural farmers and so we believe that we need more funds to be able to look at small farmers to increase their prooduction,” he said.

“We would like to request FAO for possible help to seek assistance from other donors agencies who could continue to lease funds.”

Fakahau said Tonga would like to operate a graded facility, a revolving one. 

“We like the funds over time so that the use of funds can be sustainable and farmers can continue for as long as funds are available.

“We would be very grateful to identify a potential donor for help.”