Dr. Viliami Toalei Manu has been reappointed as the Chief Executive Officer for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forests, starting November 1 for two-years.

 

The Public Service Commission said he was previously appointed CEO for Agriculture, Food and Forests on 11 October 2016, serving until the end of his contract on 10 October 2020.

His public service career began in 1983 when he was appointed as an Agricultural Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests. 

Since then, he has taken over senior positions within the Ministry including Senior Soil Chemist (1991), Principal Soil Scientist (1994) and later the Chief Plant Pathologist position.

Dr Manu is also a dedicated National Pesticide Registrar with extensive experience in managing the import, provision of statistics, advice and trainings on safety of Pesticides into Tonga.

In addition, he is Tonga’s National Codex Contact Point for the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)/ World Health Organisation (WHO) Codex Alimentarius Commission since 2007 and the National Codex Contact for the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Genetic Modified Platform.

He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Soil Science (2001) from the University of New England in Australia, a Master of Science (second class Honours) in Analytical Chemistry (1989) from the University of Canterbury, and a Bachelor of Science majoring in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry (1982) from Massey University, New Zealand.