The long-standing struggle of Salialevu Estate farmers in accessing their farms has now been addressed following the commissioning of 6.3 kilometers of farm access roads for the area.  

Acknowledging Government's input towards the Estate's farming production, Salialevu Estate Manager Pio Bosco said the upgraded road would provide relief to the 300 farmers within the confines of Salialevu.  

"For 15 years, we've faced difficulty when traveling to and from our farms and requests for the road upgrading has been submitted on numerous occasions, this farm road has been in use here for more than 30 years and since then, it has deteriorated significantly during this time. 

 "For the 300 farmers using the Estate's land for farming, this road will surely elevate the level of farming on this land because even though we faced a lot of difficulties, we continued to plant and we continued to make the best out of our situation, we did not stop," said Mr. Bosco.  

While officially commissioning the new 6.3-kilometer farm road yesterday, Minister for Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Development, Waterways and Environment Hon. Dr. Mahendra Reddy said the assistance was provided to alleviate issues that affected production levels. 

“Where does Government come in?, you may ask, because farming is your private enterprise, it is your business however Government’s role in this aspect is with respect to public infrastructure because that is part of our core role to build public infrastructure like farm roads, this farm road will benefit the 300 farmers utilizing the land which is the concept behind our constructing it, as it is for public use and is, therefore, public infrastructure. 

“We hope that through this development, production here in Salialevu increases considerably and you can create surplus and reinvest it back into your farms to ensure a cycle of independent agriculture development amongst yourselves,” said Hon. Reddy. 

He also praised farmers on Taveuni for their commitment to their respective agricultural ventures, stating that the character shown by Taveuni farmers was exemplary. 

“Taveuni is an island of model farmers and I am glad to note that farmers on the island are not so dependent on government handouts, you’ve set a standard which must be a model for the rest of Fiji. 

The newly commissioned 6.3 kilometers of farm road at Salialevu Estate was constructed at a cost of approximately $35,000 and was a Ministry of Waterways and Environment funded project in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture. 

The farm access road’s significantly reduced cost of construction was due to the use of internal Ministry machinery as compared to the usual contracted cost of farm road construction of $40,000 per kilometer (usual contractors price); the Salialevu farm road, on the other hand, was constructed at a cost of $5,000-$6,000 per kilometer which accounted for the cost of the machine operators salary, their associated allowances, carting of machinery and fuel costs. 

Gravel used for the construction was contributed by owners of Salialevu Estate and was accessed following their approval.  

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