SUVA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The capacities of Fiji's Ministry of Agriculture to conduct vulnerability and disaster assessments in the island nation received a boost with the handover of 50 data tablets recently.

According to a Fijian government statement on Tuesday, the tablets are components of the Pro-Resilient Fiji project which is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The tablets are installed with KoBo Toolbox, a free data collection software used to undertake disaster assessments.

A special training on the use of the software will be undertaken to strengthen data collection, analysis and mapping for disaster and risk assessment. The training will guarantee that planning and implementation of El Nino drought food security activities will avoid gaps and duplications, ensure consistency and are delivered on time to the affected populations.

Speaking at the handover, Permanent Secretary for Agriculture David Kolitagane highlighted the challenges that faced Fiji's national institutions.

"The challenges include increasing our capacities to identify dry spells and analyze them in an effort to respond early and more efficiently to the needs of the Fijian farmers, to support local farming activities that have an instrumental role in supporting food security and rural livelihoods," he said.