Picture: Regional Manager North, Sandeep Sharma receiving a certificate from the Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment. 

Officers of the Ministry of Agriculture who sacrificed their time with loved ones during the COVID-19 lockdowns on Viti Levu were applauded by their line Minister, Hon. Dr Mahendra Reddy yesterday (14.12.21).

While officiating at the final handover of 101 Back to Rural Agriculture farming kits to farmers in mostly the Central Division, the Minister said these officers manned the borders for long hours daily to ensure a smooth transfer of fresh produce from the West to Suva.

“The extent to which our staff worked at the borders till late at night and again at 4am the next morning every day, just to ensure those trucks carrying fresh produce was able to cross was admirable and sadly, not appreciated. These officers took shifts to ensure there were no issues for these farmers’ harvests to get across. They liaised with the police, with other government agencies, on a daily basis just so that Fijians in locked down areas would have their fresh produce,” he explained.

The Hon. Dr Reddy said like operations of this magnitude in which it was a whole of government response, issues arose at the borders.

The Minister added there were cases where there were no passes for the trucks to cross over. In others, vegetables had been harvested and within the hour, a COVID case was detected and the area was locked down. He added the farmer questioned what he was to do next with his harvest, fearing that he would lose money.

“Our staff, who had a license, drove the truck to the other side of the border to pass it to the supplier waiting on the other side, just so that the truck could pass through. Our officers were there every day to help facilitate and transfer the produce so farmers would not make a loss,” he said.

Further, the Minister said the staff were the unsung heroes during this recent pandemic who should be commended for their tireless efforts that helped keep Fijians fed.

Dr Reddy said these were the strategies the Ministry implemented when COVID-19 struck to ensure that Fijians continued to have access to food, whether it was either grown or brought to them.

-ENDS-

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