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Fiji will never suffer from starvation and is in a position to beat the fallout of the global financial crisis and even capitalize on it, an academic said in a public lecture in Suva.
Fiji Institute of Technology, Assistant Professor in Management Dr Dr. Kunneth Ramakrishnan, said Fiji can avoid the food crisis that is hitting countries worldwide because it already has an abundance of natural resources that are still under developed.
But, he stressed, what is needed is a concerted effort put into human resource development where Fiji people are taught the value of work and, in the course of this, be able to harness the available resources.
“Nobody will die of hunger, I can guarantee that. You have so much of resources at your disposal and the concern right now is how we can fully exploit this for national growth and prosperity,” Ramakrishnan told Fiji Live.
“I would say Fijians are sitting on a gold mine. We have round the year rain fall, good sun shine, plenty of fertile cultivable land, pollution and pest-free environment; these are the unachievable dreams of a farmer. It is difficult to find this combination of natural elements any where in the world. Fiji will be a rich self-sufficient nation if all available fertile land is cultivated,” he added.
He said while there were limited human resources, it was not the quantity that mattered.
“We have a supply of healthy people here but they can be developed to work hard and produce more. For that, you can have the proper human resource development and change the attitude of the people towards work, utilization of the resources and the concern of the nation as well as for the individual. This is a very essential thing,” Ramakrishnan said.
“Education in Fiji comparatively is much better than in any other developing countries but at the same time, there are two things happening. We have to continuously update the course content and two, catch up with the latest technology and skills. That is not being done. Secondly, those that are being trained, whether they are doctors, lawyers or nurses, are all going abroad.
“Government and industries are giving sponsorships but after that, these workers are not available here. They work for a year or so and then go abroad. You cannot stop them because they are looking for better pay, better prospects and better life. We cannot avoid that. So what we can do here is provide more employment opportunities - not salaries, but self employment.
“We can start small industries - individually or jointly owned proprietorship or partnership, encourage small business and cottage industries. These are within reach of the educated people, but it will need the support of government and financial institutions in terms of financing these initiatives.”
Ramakrishnan, who is from Kerala in India, said while he found Fiji to be quite similar to his home city, where coconuts were in abundance, the difference was that Fiji lacked the drive to capitalize opportunities in its coconut industry, which has the potential to spawn numerous cottage industries.
This is the same for a number of other crops that grow naturally in Fiji, he said.
