The Fijian government, together with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), has launched the Fiji Blue Economy and Green Community Development Programme (BE-GREEN), a $24.26 million initiative aimed at transforming rural livelihoods while restoring ecosystems on Vanua Levu.
The multi-phased investment program will help rural communities transition from subsistence farming to market-oriented enterprises, including agroforestry, seaweed farming and eco-tourism. It also seeks to restore degraded forests, mangroves and abandoned sugarcane fields while strengthening value chains for cocoa, root crops, beekeeping, seaweed and sea grapes.
Speaking at the launch on July 24, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said the initiative supports Fiji's National Development Plan 2025–2029 and Vision 2050, which aim to promote inclusive economic growth, environmental protection and development in rural and island communities.
Implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Waterways and Sugar Industry, in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, BE-GREEN will support community-led business and environmental plans through matching grants for rural entrepreneurs and cooperatives investing in eco-tourism, agricultural processing and value-added products.
The program will also pilot a partnership with the Reserve Bank of Fiji to encourage households to channel overseas remittances into productive rural savings and investments.
The first phase is expected to directly benefit about 6,550 households, or approximately 39,300 people, with a focus on women, youth and iTaukei communities.
IFAD Associate Vice President Donal Brown said the program demonstrates how restoring forests, freshwater systems and coastal ecosystems can improve rural incomes while protecting natural resources that support Fiji's agriculture and tourism sectors.
BE-GREEN aligns with IFAD's Pacific Islands Regional Strategic Opportunities Programme (RESOP), which guides the organization's investments across 13 Pacific Island countries through 2033 to address rural poverty, food insecurity, climate change and geographic isolation.
IFAD has supported development programs in the Pacific for more than four decades, mobilizing $557 million in investments, including $194 million from its own loans and grants, benefiting around 1 million people across the region.
