Speaking to Farmers in Wainikoro, Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment, Hon. Dr. Mahendra Reddy urged farmers to save in order to reduce their vulnerability and build resilience to external shocks.

Minister Reddy said he noted from discussions he has held with rural farmers, they tend not to save. All the income that they generate from their farming activity is spent on consumption.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, they tend not to utilize all their land for farming. Their focus is not that much for the market but for their own consumption.

Secondly their remoteness tends to be a disincentive for surplus creation as they may not be able to sell all their produce. Thirdly, under a communal residential setup, they have to share their surplus amongst their fellow villagers which then serves as disincentive for surplus creation. They do create surplus but just enough to meet their village and customary obligations. 

“Personal savings is the first port of call when there is any external shock.  Immediately after a shock, the households can utilize their savings to procure basic essentials while government support will arrive following full assessment. However, in the absence of household savings, these households are vulnerable. Therefore, it’s very worrying to note that a large proportion of our rural population are vulnerable to natural disasters because they do not have their own savings. After any shock, they immediately rely on the government's assistance”, said Minister Reddy. 

Minister Reddy noted that the long term sustainability, productivity and growth of rural farming households depends on a number of critical household attributes and one is their willingness to save for critical farm investment as well as for disaster mitigation. He noted that he will continue to advocate for savings by these households as they have been advocating for them to become members of Fiji’s only pension fund.

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