Vanuatu Agritourism Plan of Action.

The Vanuatu Agritourism Plan of Action is a national policy with a cross-sectoral approach. The goal of this Plan of Action is to enhance economic growth through enhanced integration of tourism and the productive sectors including agriculture, fisheries and livestock. The level of local supply of primary produce will be increased to meet the demand from hotels and restaurants. A database will be developed, including data on commercial producer details, crop mapping and production areas. Production levels and the quality of supply for specific crops as well as cattle and commercial fishing operations, will be improved by identifying and working with lead commercial farmers and clusters of medium sized producers. An Agritourism Financing Scheme will be developed to support investments, in order to strengthen and build the agritourism supply chain and to enhance commercial farmer competitiveness. Quality extension services will be provided by the Department of Agriculture and Livestock to meet producers’ needs. Increased demand for local content by hotels and resorts will be enhanced through training and awareness programmes for chefs as well as an increased publicity and awareness among consumers. The consumption of locally nutritious natural food products and organic products will be encouraged through education and awareness-raising campaigns that highlights the health benefits of eating nutritional local products. Value-added agritourism products will be promoted within Vanuatu destination marketing activities, such as chocolate, coffee, oils, lotions, coconut, handicrafts and other products. Tourism attractions will be strengthened through agritourism, in order to (i) provide local business and employment opportunities; (ii) generate additional income for small-to-medium scale agricultural operations; (iii) enable sustainable use of natural resources; and (iv) raise the profile of leading Vanuatu produce such as coffee, cacao, kava, vanilla, coconut, sandalwood and beef. The Agritourism Steering Committee shall be responsible for monitoring of the implementation of the Vanuatu Agritourism Plan of Action and reporting at the six-monthly meetings.