Sigatoka Valley is known as the 'Salad Bowl' of Fiji proving a majority of the islands fresh fruits and vegetables. But this highly fertile region also attracts hungry pests eager to take a bite out of the bowl. 

The Pacific Community through its Land Resources Division is now better equipped to prepare and respond to these threats through its the first of its kind, plant health laboratory.

Commissioned in later October 2020 the lab is housed at the SPC Campus in Narere in Fiji and will allow Pacific Island Countries to develop controls for emerging biosecurity threats, including pests and diseases. Designed to bolster regional capacity, the plant health laboratory enables SPC scientists to study various pests and diseases requiring a high level of biosecurity containment, such as insects, fungi, viruses, and bacteria.

In this episode we travel with plant health specialists to the Sigatoka Valley and talk with farmers about measures to protect their crops.