Potatoes, Fiji, and the Future!

If you are a futurist (like me), you always must be focused on the upside.

Otherwise, you don’t have much in the way of career potential.

You have to be an optimist. Always seeing the bright side of life!

So imagine my surprise while wandering around the trade show floor at Potato Expo 2015, last January, where I had finished a keynote, and coming across the booth for Fiji.

That’s the Pacific nation best known for tourism, fruit exports, and other niche economic sectors. And here they are, at Potato Expo 2015.

And apparently, don’t have much of a potato industry. Of the top 10 potator producing countries in the world, Fiji ranks 153rd.

In fact, the country has to import most of it’s potato supply, some $22 million USD worth per year.

But they are also thinking beyond that, and are thinking of export potential. I spoke to the folks at the booth, and their attitude was simple. Growing food demand and a lush agricultural sector meant that they could see nothing upside, potential and opportunity. So they thought it important to be there, as a way to begin exploring the opportunity.

Now that’s optimism and innovation!