April 1, 2021
Picture: Mr. Faizal Khan - the Fruit Orchard owner.
Farmers must view their role like
any other business, in addition practice inter-cropping to be self-sufficient.
Those were the words of
encouragement from the Provincial Administrator Nadroga Navosa, Ms Ruth Atu
while officiating at an organized field day for farmers at Faizal Khan’s
Orchard farm in Vatukarasa, Nadroga recently.
The field day was held to
motivate farmers in the western division to establish fruit orchards on their
farms. The exercise is also part of the five initiatives of the Ministry of
Agriculture to increase the establishment of Fruit Tree Orchards to farmers.
Fruit Trees contain high nutritional value.
“There is a need to develop
Fiji's fruit industry to include more locally grown fruits in our diets so it
is vital that you set up fruit orchards on your farms for food security and
nutritional aspects and the western division has the potential for orchard
cultivation,” she said.
Farmers were informed that under
agriculture, they played a significant role in the process of economic
development of a country.
“It sustains and drives the
economy, the backbone of everything and apart from providing food and other raw
materials, it also provides employment opportunities.”
She said aside from seasonal
fruit, having fruit tree orchards assisted to reduce the import bill of fruits,
improve farmer’s livelihoods and the health of Fiji’s general population, and adds
to the supply of local fruit,” Ms Atu said
She said it was important to
plant fruit orchards as a commercial crop and also think of developing value
adding products from it.
With the current pandemic
situation, farmers were encouraged to advance and develop farming as a business
and for food security.
“We must no longer stay in the knowledge that it is a way of life but go beyond where you look at it as an
important lucrative business,” she said.
Further, farmers were enlightened
on record-keeping, creating linkages to market, introduced to dragon fruit and a
new variety green pearl guava orchard farm.
Women farmer participant Ms Kelera
Nasita said the field day was an introduction to new farming areas.
“Some of us are subsistence
farmers with the interest to venture into newly introduced fruits for food and
nutritional security,” she said.
“Meeting with other farmers
enables us to share experiences and learn from them. There is available land
with the potential to cultivate fruit orchards, apart from the traditional ones
to feed the local market.”
The Faizal Khan Orchard farm is
the first orchard farm in Fiji established under the initiative of the Ministry
of Agriculture.
-Ends-