THE Forum Fisheries Agency has this week hosted a tuna bottling for small business workshop training, which attracted at least 15 local participants in Honiara, according to the FFA media statement.
The training aims to provide tuna bottling training for Honiara-based small business entrepreneurs in the Solomon Islands and to support small businesses and the local tuna industry to diversify their product lines to include bottled tuna.
The FFA’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Advisor, Rose Martin, noted in the media statement that this activity is part of their efforts to ensure that their support for members is inclusive, reaching small businesses and families.
“We hope that this activity (and others) will enable us to reach out to more members in the coming months,” she stated.
The bottled tuna is a unique product that potentially provides small-scale entrepreneurs in the Solomon Islands with an entrepreneurial opportunity. Likewise, bottled tuna production can be undertaken with a relatively small investment and has the potential to provide good financial returns to the business operator, especially in areas with access to tuna resources.
The media statement described a workshop participant’s reflection on the outcome of the training as beneficial for food security.
“This workshop is beneficial for food security, especially during bad weather when tuna is out of stock. I can make my own tuna bottle using my choice of flavor and ingredients.
“I went home and shared a sample with my family. Since we have a catering business, we will make tuna bottles for tuna sandwiches, pizza, and fillings for tuna pie and seafood salad,” she added.
The tuna canning training is a catalyst to help improve food security and provide employment and business opportunities for Solomon Islanders at the same time, providing avenues for small business entrepreneurs in the country.
