Solomon Islands new permanent secretary for agriculture, Ethel Tebengi Frances, says the sector has to refocus and re-strategise.
She said as logging scaled down over the next few years, the nation's economic base would remain weak and vulnerable after emerging from the ethnic tension and recent natural disasters.
But agriculture had the potential to fill in the gaps, as long as the ministry was properly resourced, the top ranked official said.
It was good to export and earn revenue but Solomon Islanders also needed to feed themselves, create employment opportunities through commercial agriculture and to cut their dependency on imported food, she said.
Ethel Tebengi Francis Photo: supplied