The Solomon Islands Minister for Agriculture has appealed to his country's youth to stay and work in rural areas, making the most of the country's natural resources.
Selwyn Rimana says the government is gradually making progress on promoting agricultural livelihoods such as growing rice and oil palm plantations.
It's part of the government's aim of reducing the trend of urban drift, with many of the country's youth migrating to towns where the prospects of employment are few.
Mr Rimana says the high rate of unemployment in a country like Solomon Islands is avoidable given the abundance of resources.
"And I would appeal to all young people in the country to make best use of the resources - that is where the money is. And in Honiara maybe they look for form of employment. If there is no employment, they wouldn't have met their dreams. To meet their dreams, they have to stay back at home and utilise their knowledge, convert our resources into useful resources and become a very productive population for this country."
Selwyn Rimana
