Tonga does not have food insecurity or hunger but rather a problem of eating low-quality food, which causes a high rate of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and obesity, Prince Tu'ipelehake said in opening a display of Tongan food on October 16 for International World Food Day.

As Tonga's Minister of Agriculture, Prince Tu'ipelehake officially opened the display of traditional food crops, vegetables, plants and local dishes and commented on the theme for the day "Achieving food security in times of crisis". Prince Tu'ipelehake said that according to a World Food Organisation report, one billion people are living in hunger around the world this year, "an alarming 100 million increase from last year, a result of the Global Financial Crisis.

"It is therefore essential and wise for Tonga to take into serious account this problem and strive toward securing abundant food; at the same time we must ensure we eat food of good quality because when we are healthy we will then be able to secure food for our families, and the country."

Local individual growers and groups taking part in the display were judged in a competition and certificates were given out for the Best Organic Vegetable Garden and Best Fruit Crop.

The Minister warned Tongans against being complacent about food security.

"It is essential that we continue growing our traditional food crops and vegetables to ensure that we have abundant food and ensure that we eat healthy food," he said.

He said following the tsunami in Niuatoputapu the Ministry of Agriculture would be sending experts to replant crops.

On a different issue he said that there were opportunities for growers, such as women groups, to export vegetable to New Zealand under a new program that has been initiated.