Fijian youth entrepreneurs: championing health through sustainable food systems

Abstract

The health of Pacific people is known to be at risk because of the onset of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes. The scale of the problem requires innovative approaches to bring about change. One such approach is the development of a sustainable food system in combination with the leadership of Pacific youth. This study sought to engage Pacific youth as part of the solution to reducing NCDs through social enterprise and championing of sustainable food systems. Four young Fijian vegetable and fruit entrepreneurs shared their stories as part of a participatory action research of Talanoa/storytelling, with social media workshops, networking and promotional opportunities. Findings revealed that youth entrepreneurs are passionate about food and health, family and tradition; some are already food influencers and champions and they are keen to grow their businesses. Yet, there is limited support for small business development with a social purpose and youth-led campaigns. The study indicates a growing potential to develop local youth-led social entrepreneurship and innovation to address NCDs in exciting new ways. There is an urgent need to support innovation interventions to advocate for sustainable food systems for the Pacific, that promote positive human health needs and address, more broadly, climate change effects.

Keywords: Fijian youth; Talanoa epistemology; community-based participatory research; non-communicable disease; sustainable food systems.