Old Wine In A New Bottle? Proposed Sugar Industry Restructuring and Land Conflict in Fiji

The proposed restructure of Fiji's sugar industry has the potential to change fundamentally the incentives facing stakeholders and their interaction. How well the stated objective of 'unity in purpose' is achieved will depend on whether the causes of th

ALTA OR NLTA: WHAT'S IN THE NAME? LAND TENURE DILEMMA AND THE FIJI SUGAR INDUSTRY

Since 1997, the agricultural leases on Native land, issued under the 1976 Agricultural and Landlord Tenants Act (ALTA), began to expire. The sugar industry is the main commodity export earner for Fiji, directly contributing about 22% of the national GDP and supporting over 25% of the country's active labor force. Fiji exports 80% of its sugar production, earning on average of $250-300 million in foreign exchange annually. Several options have been suggested, including: non-renewal of leases, with the land reverting to Fijian owners; renewal of ALTA but with land rents pegged to the gross value of production instead of the unimproved capital value; sharecropping and contract wage arrangements; and abolishment of lease arrangement under ALTA with leases to be issued under an institutional arrangement guided by the Native Lands Trust Act (NLTA). The land tenure system adopted will have a significant impact not only on the efficiency of the sugar cane sector but also on Fiji's ability to meet its international obligations of sugar exports. This paper explores the land tenure dilemma facing Fiji today. It assesses the economic implications of the various forms of land lease system proposed. This analysis is carried out in terms of efficiency, equity, and risk sharing in the current preferential market access environment and under possible future world market conditions. Suggestions are made on institutional arrangements that could enhance efficiency in resource use and encourage sharing of production risks that arise due to variability in factor prices and climatic conditions as well as sugar prices.Land tenure -- Government policy -- Fiji, Landlord and tenant -- Law and legislation -- Fiji, Land tenure -- Economic aspects -- Fiji, Agricultural laws and legislation -- Fiji, Leases -- Fiji, Sugar trade -- Fiji, Sugarcane industry -- Economic aspects -- Fiji, Fiji. Agricultural and Landlord Tenants Act (1976), Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use,

Financial viability of forest certification in industrial plantations: a case study from the Solomon Islands

Forest certification has been promoted to encourage sustainable use of natural forests. While its use in industrial plantation forests has not always been welcomed (World Rainforest Movement 2002), forest certification offers great opportunities in the tropics. This paper assesses the profitability of forest certification of an industrial hardwood plantation in the Solomon Islands by the Forest Stewardship Council. The results of this study suggest that industrial plantations can achieve significant financial benefits from sustainable forest management confirmed by a recognised certification scheme. This positive outcome will, however, depend on the marginal costs incurred by the plantation company to adapt its practices to meet sustainability requirements stipulated by the certification scheme, and the price premiums obtained by the firm. In the case of the Solomon Islands forestry, the additional costs of sustainable forest management and forest certification, including the transaction cost of forest certification, were far less than the market premium that was obtained from certified logs. The company’s costs would have had to increase by almost two thousand folds before certification could be regarded as financially not profitable. This case study thus demonstrates that it is possible for tropical plantations to have a ‘win win’ outcome from forest certification, achieving net financial benefit as well as ensuring sustainable forest managementThis item was commisioned by Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, AN

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The COVID‐19 Pandemic Not Only Poses Challenges, but Also Opens Opportunities for Sustainable Transformation

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted social, economic, and environmental systems worldwide, slowing down and reversing the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs belong to the 2030 Agenda to transform our world by tackling humankind's challenges to ensure well-being, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. We explore the potential impacts of the pandemic on SDGs for Nepal. We followed a knowledge co-creation process with experts from various professional backgrounds, involving five steps: online survey, online workshop, assessment of expert's opinions, review and validation, and revision and synthesis. The pandemic has negatively impacted most SDGs in the short term. Particularly, the targets of SDG 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 have and will continue to have weakly to moderately restricting impacts. However, a few targets of SDG 2, 3, 6, and 11 could also have weakly promoting impacts. The negative impacts have resulted from impeding factors linked to the pandemic. Many of the negative impacts may subside in the medium and long terms. The key five impeding factors are lockdowns, underemployment and unemployment, closure of institutions and facilities, diluted focus and funds for non-COVID-19-related issues, and anticipated reduction in support from development partners. The pandemic has also opened a window of opportunity for sustainable transformation, which is short-lived and narrow. These opportunities are lessons learned for planning and action, socio-economic recovery plan, use of information and communication technologies and the digital economy, reverse migration and “brain gain,” and local governments' exercising authorities

Vulnerability to natural disasters: an economic analysis of the impact of the 2009 floods on the Fijian sugar belt

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Agency costs, corporate governance and the Fiji Sugar Corporation

The Fiji Sugar Corporation, the sole miller in Fiji, has experienced declining financial performance for over a decade, despite Fiji enjoying sugar prices two to three times the average world price. The corporation?s poor financial performance has primarily been blamed on the increase in burnt cane. This paper tests the importance of factors controlled by growers and millers in explaining the decline in the profitability. It concludes by reviewing proposed policy reforms and suggests alternative policies to reverse the recent trend