BPP Partnership Impact Series: Growing a sustainable seaweed farming industry in Fiji

Since its launch, the Business Partnerships Platform (BPP) has worked with ambitious partners to deliver meaningful, lasting change in communities across the world. Our BPP Partnership Impact Series celebrates the outcomes and lessons from partnerships that have now closed, highlighting their contributions to inclusive economic growth, resilience and sustainable development.

Our COVID-19 Recovery partnership in Fiji was established to create a seaweed farming industry in rural Fijian communities. While the partnership ended in 2024, the investment in Sea & Soil has created a sustainable, profitable business model which will continue to grow.

Growing opportunities

In Fiji, a BPP partnership between Sea & Soil and the Australian Government has created a thriving and sustainable seaweed farming industry, creating jobs and improving food security for hundreds of people.

Seaweed is an abundant resource in Fiji and a clean, green and profitable industry for communities along the coastline. Seaweed farms provide marine habitats and capture large amounts of carbon dioxide from the ocean while crops are grown.

Sea & Soil buys the harvested seaweed, turning it into organic products including fertilisers, pest control, animal feeds, cosmetics, cooking fuels and biochar for clean water.

About the partnership

The partnership especially focused on providing work opportunities and improved economic livelihoods for women in Fiji, as many were disproportionally affected during the height of the COVID-19 response.

Catalytic funding provided by the Australian Government opened doors for Sea & Soil, helping the company develop and scale seaweed production in more than 22 rural villages. Sea & Soil was then able to expand its manufacturing capabilities and apply for further funding grants.

Products are already stocked in more than 50 outlets across Fiji and Sea & Soil will continue to strengthen their market presence domestically.

In 2019, it was estimated that over USD $20 million worth of animal feed and chemical fertilisers were imported to the island. Sea & Soil’s organic products offer a locally made alternative that improves soil health and reduces reliance on imports. This not only benefits local farmers but also helps lower negative environmental impacts.

Thanks to the partnership, Sea & Soil now hopes to become a global leader in sustainable agriculture, expanding to other countries including Samoa and selling its range of organic products in Australia and North America.

Impact

During the BPP partnership period, the impact included:

• Local work opportunities – hundreds of new seasonal seaweed farming jobs, focused within rural communities.
• Environment improvements – seaweed growth is fuelled by capturing tonnes of carbon dioxide from the ocean – improving water quality and providing marine habitats.
• Clean and green products – organicnew products developed and sold to farms and households, improving soil quality and reducing reliance on chemical equivalents.
• Sustainable industry – New infrastructure and high demand set the stage for the company to grow locally and internationally.
• Empowering women – giving women the training and support needed to build sustainable female-led agriculture businesses.
• Growing organic farming networks – supported over 3,000 farmers, mostly women, to transition to organic farming through the Sea & Soil network, boosting incomes and sustainable practices.

From seaweed to savings: transforming lives in Sawakasa

The effects of COVID-19 had devastating impacts across Fiji, including for the women of Sawakasa village.

The village is located an hour north of Suva, on the pristine west side of the island where seaweed grows in abundance.

Like many women in Fiji, female villagers were reliant on casual employment through tourism, and informal work as farm labourers or market vendors.

With limited alternative job opportunities at the height of the pandemic response, many were left without jobs or incomes, impacting their families.

Seaweed farming proved to be a lifeline for the village, with training and support from Sea & Soil helping dozens of women to transform the easy growing commodity into a source of income.

Renivani Sovoi is one of the many villagers who now works alongside her family members, proudly harvesting seaweed for Sea & Soil’s products.

“Seaweed farming has helped me and my family financially,” she shared.

“We are enjoying ourselves and making money at the same time.” 

For Joana Kalomani, learning to grow and harvest seaweed has been a blessing for her family and community.

“When COVID-19 came, job losses. We don’t know how we would have survived without seaweed farming.”

View the full partnership impact story below or download here.