Agriculture Ministry expands provincial presence to support farmers

October 1, 2026 11:03 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Ezra Toara.

The Director General (DG) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Biosecurity (MALFB), Timothy Tumukon, says the Ministry is expanding its presence across provinces and area councils to bring agricultural services closer to farmers and rural communities.

Speaking during a Public Service Commission (PSC) panel session focused on government services and decentralisation, DG Tumukon said communities want to see more government services and development activities reaching their respective provinces and local areas.

He said feedback from the previous PSC Day in Tanna showed a strong desire for government ministries and departments to have a greater presence in the provinces, particularly at area council level.

“Our presence is not at the level that people want, and this is one of the things we have emphasised and are trying to work on, so that the presence of the Ministry and its departments is more prominent,” Tumukon said.

The DG said this was particularly important for agriculture because more than 80 per cent of Vanuatu’s population lives in rural areas.

Tumukon said the Ministry was therefore working with the Public Service to improve its reach throughout the provinces so farmers and communities could access services more easily and participate in primary production and food security.

He said the Ministry had increased its staffing this year to become more visible across the provinces and area councils.

In TAFEA Province, Tumukon said the Ministry now had officers operating in almost all area councils, alongside various agricultural projects aimed at supporting communities, particularly farmers.

He said one of the Ministry’s key roles was to provide extension and advisory services and ensure officers were close to farmers and producers.

“The idea is to make sure people do not have to walk far to get the help and assistance and the services they want,” he said.

Tumukon said agricultural projects should not remain concentrated in Efate and Santo but should reach communities across all provinces.

Focus on provincial development

He said this year’s Public Service Day would be held soon in Motalava, TORBA Province, where the Ministry would present its work and plans for the province.

The Ministry is also preparing its planning and strategic priorities to present during the PSC Day, including initiatives expected to be unveiled as part of its plans for 2027.

Tumukon said the Ministry was implementing Government initiatives such as the Islands Focus programme, which aims to direct greater attention and resources towards specific provinces and strengthen local economic development.

He said the Ministry was also focusing on strengthening local food production so communities could have access to food during disasters and other emergencies.

Tumukon said the Island Focus Initiative (IFI) would concentrate on SANMA and PENAMA this year, while the focus would shift to TAFEA and MALAMPA next year.

“The main idea is to drive economic development in those areas and focus on people who are serious about farming,” he said.

He explained that the Ministry had previously spread its resources across all provinces, making it difficult to measure the impact of its work.

Under the new approach, the Ministry would focus more closely on one or two provinces at a time while continuing to provide basic advisory services to others.

He said the approach would eventually extend to all provinces.

Tumukon said the strategy was also intended to identify the strengths of each province and determine which agricultural activities had the greatest potential.

“This is the pace we are working at to direct the resources of the Government to bring up the level of farming in those particular areas,” he said.

Stronger cooperation between ministries

Tumukon also spoke about the importance of cooperation between government ministries in supporting agricultural development.

He said farmers required more than agricultural advice to increase production, pointing to the need for better roads, processing facilities and market access.

“For example, I need my colleagues, or the farmers need access roads. This is the kind of help we need,” he said.

He also pointed to the Ministry of Trade, saying agricultural producers needed support to process their products and sell them to local and international markets.

DG Tumukon said collaboration between ministries was therefore critical.

He said MALFB had been discussing access roads with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities, including work under a memorandum of understanding relating to roads serving production areas.

Tumukon said public road programmes could take significant time, so the Ministry was also exploring ways to access heavy-duty equipment that could complement existing government work.

He said this would help the Ministry improve access to production areas and enable agricultural produce to reach markets.

Digital Farmer Registry

Tumukon also spoke about the Ministry’s development of a Digital Farmer Registry aimed at improving information on farmers and their production.

He said farmers would be able to register their activities through a digital platform, allowing the Ministry to maintain information about what they were producing and where.

For example, if a buyer was looking for a particular product such as kava in the Banks Islands, the Ministry could use the registry to identify farmers producing that commodity and connect them with potential buyers.

Tumukon said the system could make it easier for farmers to access markets and sell their products.

Provincial budgeting

Tumukon said MALFB was also among the first ministries to devolve elements of its budgeting to the provinces.

He said this allowed staff based in the provinces to commit funds towards implementing activities and projects locally.

However, he acknowledged that the system was still being strengthened and that the Ministry was continuing to learn how to improve the process.

Tumukon said the Ministry had already rolled out financial commitments that give provincial-based staff access to funds to carry out their work, with further improvements still needed.

He said the broader objective was to ensure government resources, services and agricultural development reached communities where farmers and producers were operating.