Pacific Forum Opens to Scale Agrifood Solutions
Vanuatu and the FAO have opened a four-day Pacific forum in Port Vila focused on financing and scaling agrifood innovation.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Agriculture
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Vanuatu and the Food and Agriculture Organization opened the 2026 Pacific SIDS Solutions Forum in Port Vila on 3 November. The four-day meeting, under the theme 'Solutions for a Resilient Blue Pacific,' focuses on financing and scaling agrifood systems transformation.
Why it matters
Recent climate-related shocks, including El Niño effects and cyclones and earthquakes in Vanuatu, have exposed food insecurity and supply chain disruption across the Pacific. The forum seeks practical financing pathways for regional agrifood solutions.
Earlier forums in Samoa and Fiji showcased more than 80 solutions and brought in more than US$3.4 million in commitments. The size of commitments expected from the Port Vila meeting has not been disclosed.
The players
Johnny Koanapo Rasou
Vanuatu's Deputy Prime Minister, who opened the forum in Port Vila.
QU Dongyu
Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, who addressed the forum virtually.
Ian Wilson Toagalana
Vanuatu's Minister of Agriculture, who welcomed participants on behalf of the host country.
The details
The forum includes 12 side events and exhibitions of Pacific-led work on food, agriculture and fisheries. Deputy Prime Minister Johnny Koanapo Rasou opened the meeting, and FAO Director-General QU Dongyu addressed participants virtually.
Timeline
2022: Earlier forum held in Samoa
2024: Earlier forum held in Fiji
3 November 2026: Forum opened in Port Vila
6 November 2026: Forum closes with adoption of an outcome document
Market Landscape
The Port Vila forum continues a series that began in Samoa in 2022 and continued in Fiji in 2024, each building on the solutions and commitments of the last. It extends that track record into a period marked by regional climate shocks and a push toward financing Pacific-led agrifood systems.
Agrifood priorities agreed at the forum could shape which regional food and fisheries initiatives receive funding in the coming years. Pacific consumers and producers may see changes in food security programs as those commitments are put into action.
The takeaway
Regional food security in the Pacific depends increasingly on locally led solutions that can be financed and scaled over time. Watching how the outcome document translates into funded projects will show whether that shift takes hold.
What happens next
The forum closes on 6 November 2026 with adoption of an outcome document setting out agreed priorities and actions for the region.
Further reading
Explore more on Agriculture for context on how food systems are being financed and scaled.
Source note: This article includes information reported by SolomonTimes.
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