A Ba farmer who was a recipient of the Cash for Cultivation assistance of $200 made a net profit of $900 after successfully selling his first harvest of tomatoes.

Paula Namo, from Balevuto, Naloto, Ba said the assistance arrived at exactly the right time that he needed it.

Speaking in i-taukei, Paula explained he had just completed land prep on his farm, and was worried about where he would get the planting materials or what he would plant, when he received the money.

He said the money allowed him to buy seeds to help him start off his vegetable farm. He harvested his first lot of tomatoes where after paying off all expenses such as labor, insecticides, and transporting it to the market, he was left with a net profit of $900; from an assistance of just $200.

Paula thanked #MinistryofAgricultureFiji and Adventist Development and Relief Agency #ADRA for helping him to progress his farm.

From his total leased land of ten acres, Paula uses three to plant corn, long beans, cucumber, bongo chillies, eggplants, and dalo. The balance of seven acres is on hilly terrain, however, he has planted cassava on it.

Paula has only been farming for three years on this leased land of his, which is located on a gully with a stream running at the edge of his farm. He was assisted with an irrigation set in 2017 under the Export Pathway Program, however he lost everything when heavy rain caused the nearby stream to burst its banks, and flood his farm.

However, from his recent farming activities, he has been able to slowly rebuild his farming tools, bought some livestock and irrigation equipment, educate his children, as well as meet communal and church obligations.

The Cash for Cultivation initiative was established to assist farmers recover from the impacts of Tropical Cyclones Yasa and Ana late 2020 and early this year. A total of 1,000 farmers were assisted in the first phase, thanks to #ADRA and its partners. An additional 3,000 farmers were assisted in the second phase, thanks to support from the Australian Government #AUCHC and #ADRA.

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