Picture: Operation Westcross at Sawani border.

The success of the Ministry of Agriculture’s three ‘Operations WestCross’ in transporting agro-inputs worth over $84k and weighing approximately a total of 53 tonnes for Naitasiri farmers from Lautoka to the Sawani border was only possible through strong collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

Operation WestCross 3 recently (29.6.21) took place where agro-inputs worth $42k and weighing 30 tonnes was again carefully organized and successfully executed.

Such an exercise of this magnitude took a lot of time including weekends to plan, with the supplier – South Pacific Fertilizers (SPF), the Agriculture team on the ground, and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.

It all started amid the lockdown when the strategic containment areas were defined and movements were restricted in the Central Division. In his daily brief to operations team, the Regional Manager Central, Mr Mohammed Kadir Khan highlighted the plight of farmers in his division and their need for agro-inputs. Under the leadership of the Head of Agriculture Operations and Services, Dr Vinesh Kumar, a team that included Regional Manager Central and Senior Agriculture Officer Ra, Mr Sandeep Sharma met virtually around 9pm to draw up a plan.  

“I was assigned to handle the logistics from the West to Central whilst RMC Kadir was assigned to look after orders and distribution in Central. Initially, we thought of taking Operation Westcross 1 through the highlands of Viti Levu following the Monasavu Road but we were thankful that we were allowed to take it through the Logani border,” Mr Sharma said.

“Our plan was discussed with the CEO of SPF, who gave his full support for this Operation. Finally, ‘Operation WestCross’ was a go-go.”

He said the logistics from loading to delivery at Sawani border was closely monitored and guided by the Head of Agriculture Operations and Services.

“Knowing that crossing the Logani border to sell fertilizer at Sawani boarder was highly risky, did not deter our driver, Epeli Rasaqa from Rakiraki to agree to drive the truck inside the containment area. Satish Chand and Abhay Nand also made sacrifices working in the weekend and after working hours to make this operation successful.”

Mr. Sharma said they encountered challenges such as looking for ropes to tie down the load, tarpaulin to cover it and even attending to load ‘slips’ on the way.

“But with a great working relationship with other stakeholders, we managed to sort things out. We are here to serve our farmers and my team in the West is ready to deliver even in extreme situations.”

Regional Manager Central, Mr Khan echoed similar sentiments adding that the current pandemic added to the challenge in organizing such an operation.

“It takes time and resources to organize the logistics, especially during this difficult time. We coordinated with the Roko Tui, the Provincial Administrator, District Advisory Councillors, the Turaga Ni Koro and locality officers to liaise with farmers who needed the agro inputs,” he said.

“Once we received the confirmation order from our partners on the ground, we then communicated with the Head of Agriculture Operations and Services to initiate ‘Operation WestCross,” Mr Khan said

Mr Khan said something he learnt during this Operation was the satisfaction he derived from meeting the needs of farmers on time, as that and trust were the main commodities that were important to the latter.

The Ministry facilitated the three Operations WestCross last month for the Naitasiri farmers, as well as a separate exercise for Tailevu North farmers in late May.

-ENDS-

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