Pacific farmers have their say

Were you one of the many Pacific Islanders who spent the first few weeks of the coronavirus pandemic with soil under your nails? The introduction of lockdowns plus border closures precipitated an explosion of backyard

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Minoru Nishi on business during COVID

For farmers and producers like Tonga’s Minoru Nishi, Managing Director of Nishi Trading Company, COVID-19 has been a double-edged hoe. “Our exports actually increased in terms of demand from the market, and I

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Local produce, local menus

When 116 farmers in Fiji’s western division received ‘Cash for Cultivation’ from the government, Agriculture Minister Dr Mahendra Reddy told them: “We want the demand for vegetables, fresh produce,

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From tree to bar to table

Kokomana is a small artisan ‘tree-to-bar’ chocolate maker and social enterprise run by Richard and Anne Markham in Savusavu, northern Fiji. The operation produces about 100 bars of high-quality chocolate

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Can mining dig Fiji out of COVID hole?

Fiji’s minerals sector is tipped to lead its post-COVID economic recovery, with gold production expected to strengthen later this year and interest in gold prospecting on the rise.  “The mining sector

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Facebook and Pacific news

The importance of Pacific news on Facebook was thrown into sharp relief by the stand-off in January between the Australian government and Facebook over the government’s media code. Facebook closed access to Pacific

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Big Audit Fail

Nearly six years out of date. Not leaked audit reports from the Cook Islands, as exposed by Islands Business last month,  representing hundreds of millions in unpublished, unaudited micro-state assets. This time

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Pacific water woes

Earlier this month the world learnt of the plight of Banabans, who had been living without fresh water for a year according to residents. A social media post from an overseas-based Banaban gave a stark insight into the

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