The 2021 graduating class of Tutu Rural Training Centre in Taveuni have been challenged to utilise their newly acquired knowledge and skillsets to effectively contribute to the economy.

While officiating at the graduation ceremony this week, Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment Hon. Dr. Mahendra Reddy congratulated these graduating young farmers and advised them to put direct their energy and enthusiasm towards developing their respective communities through agriculture.

“You’re now equipped with a new body of knowledge, skillsets, enthusiasm, energy and vision to go back to your areas, villages and contribute to the development of the community, grow, and in the process contribute to national development.

“As students of Tutu Training Centre, you are entirely engrossed and focused on becoming farmers instead of looking for a white-collar job. The government wants to ensure that you have continuity in agriculture development, and we want to ensure that you treat agriculture as a business, and we want to see more young people take up agriculture as a profession,” said Hon. Reddy.

“At the moment, 33% of our 83,000 farmers are youths below the age of 35 and we want to see more young farmers as it will ensure we have able-bodied young farmers who will continue to feed the nation and we are very proud and excited to see that a growing number of youths are turning to agriculture now,” he added.

Minister Reddy shared that there was room for enormous growth in the sector as the foundational resource for agriculture, land, and a substantial amount of it was still being underutilized as it had the capacity to be brought into agriculture and he also called on the families of the Tutu graduands to render their support in the farming endeavours of these students.

“We see these young agricultural entrepreneurs, who will grow with a new stock of knowledge as they graduate today fully equipped with skillsets and knowledge, backed up by the training centre but if they are not given the right support and backup by their relatives, Mataqali members, they will not be able to grow as an agriculture entrepreneur and we’ll lose them as commercial farmers, becoming a member of a cadre of who are only satisfied with the little surplus that they create, and we’re worried that this will happen.

“I urge your family members, your Mataqali members to allow them to excel at commercial agriculture,” he said.

“Allow them to treat their farming as a business to create surplus and they must be allowed to save, and spend on their family’s consumption and to reinvest. Unless they’re allowed to reinvest, it can’t be categorized as a business because we won’t be able to witness sustainable agriculture flourish, we will continue to see a sizeable cadre of farmers who are content with just being subsistence farmers, and we will continue to view the Agriculture Ministry, and Government as a bank, we’re not a bank,” stressed Minister Reddy.

“We are here to provide technical support, we’re here to provide support with regard to the introduction of new varieties, new breeds, develop new varieties of crops and new breeds of livestock.

“We’re here to give an initial leverage to start off and I want to assure our graduates here today that we will support you, we will provide you with initial support to assist you with land clearing and preparation, each one of you will be tagged to our locality agriculture extension officer, we will provide you with planting material at no cost to you and we will continue to provide you with technical support but we want you to stand on your own and be an example of an agriculture entrepreneur in your area,” he said.

Meanwhile, graduating student Kositatino Bulavakarua from Qeleni Village acknowledged the mentoring and guidance the students received during their 3 years of study at Tutu Rural Training Centre as it had helped to instil valuable life lessons in them.

“Thanks to the institute here in Tutu, we have learned a lot about what it takes to be a successful farmer and human being, I am truly grateful to the teachers and instructors here and all the staff for their patience and willingness to impart these lessons to us,” he said.

“I also wish to thank the Ministry of Agriculture for their continued support in funding our institution, without the Ministry’s grants, there would be no Tutu and I hope that this funding continues for many years to come so that other budding farmers can experience Tutu just like we did,” said Kositatino.

49 young farmers from the three provinces of Cakaudrove, Bua and Macuata graduated from Tutu Rural Training Centre, each with a detailed 5 year plan to assist in the development of their respective farming ventures.

The Ministry of Agriculture allocated $614,051.00 in this year’s 2021-2022 budget to Tutu Agricultural training school for the organization’s operational activities as an investment into the sector to ensure sustainable, competitive and resilient agriculture sector which provides economic opportunities, environmental sustainability and food and nutrition security for all Fijians. 

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