Picture: Tadeo Bainivalu at his poultry shed.
His interest in Agriculture
landed him four informative years at the Navuso Agriculture Technical School
(NATI) in Navuso, Naitasiri.
A 2019 NATI graduate, Tadeo
Bainivalu was given the opportunity to expand his horizon by becoming a
commercial farmer with a land lease title package provided by the school.
“When we were asked of the type
of farming we are going to engage in after we graduate, I chose poultry because
my interest in this dated back when I was a child seeing my father raise meat
birds,” he said.
Within two years, Tadeo is
another classic example of perseverance, hard-work and practically putting to
good use what he learnt at NATI and the package he received on the five-acres leased
land in Naila, Bau in Tailevu.
“When you are on your own farm
that is where you practically do what you learn. It is different from when we
were back in school where trial and error is acceptable,” he said.
“This is for one’s livelihood and
going commercial takes dedication and time management, raising meat birds requires
6-7 weeks so I find that interesting.”
Tadeo started his poultry farm
with 300 chicks donated by the school when he graduated from the Navuso
Agriculture Technical School.
“Quite a number of my colleagues
chose beef, piggery, for me because of the interest from childhood and the
geographical location of my farm, I saw that raising meat birds was the better
choice,” said Tadeo.
Tadeo shares his dreams and experiences
with his family who supports and assist him on the farm.
“Rearing is the easy part
including from the feeding to the hygiene maintenance of the shed but the
challenging bit is when the birds become sick and record keeping is something
we never miss.”
Often Tadeo also has the hard
task of discarding sick birds to prevent the spread of disease to other birds.
His poultry farming business is
onto the third phase of its breeding with the first batch sale raking in $2,300
and the second batch brought him $1,860.
“Along the way we come across areas
that need attention from raising chicks to its sale and we learn along the
way.”
In addition, the family recently started
selling meat birds on Saturdays and have even booked a spot at the Nausori Market.
The impact of the education Tadeo
received at NATI has opened his eyes and enabled him to re-invest on the land
he has leased from the profit gained from the sale of his meat birds.
“Apart from buying more chicks
and feed, money received from the sale of the birds was spent on the fencing
the five acres land, paid for digger works for land preparation on the other
flatland that will be used soon for crops and vegetables, we also managed to
buy a cow, and we are also planning on buying a van for selling and transporting
birds from my next sale.”
From the land he leased to start
his poultry farm, he has also expanded, planting 2,000 dalo toppings and 1,000
cassava plants.
With the struggles he encountered
in life, Tadeo said it was essential that money was used wisely on necessary things
that would provide a good return in the future.
“Attending NATI gave me a lot of
opportunities from learning the basics of livestock and crop to being given a
lease title to start my farming with stock to start with, to what I am
achieving now,” he said.
“All is needed is for me to continue
with determination, confidence, discipline, being obedient and willing to sacrifice.”
-Ends-