Picture: Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment Hon. Dr Mahendra Reddy and Ministry staff with the recipients of the Ministry’s Small Farming Equipment programme in Bilalevu, Valley Road, Sigatoka

Youth participation in agriculture needs to be improved.

These were the sentiments shared by the Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment Hon. Dr Mahendra Reddy while handing out offer letters to recipients of the Ministry’s Small Farming Equipment programme in Bilalevu, Valley Road, Sigatoka earlier this week.

Hon. Reddy said for Fiji’s agriculture sector to have a foothold in the economy, active youth participation was imperative to ensure the continuation of the sector’s upward economic trajectory.

“We want to see more youth participating in agriculture. Young minds are more open to technological adoption, young minds are curious, they are willing to try out new technologies, new varieties of crops and new breeds of livestock, and new ways of farming.

“Fiji’s agriculture sector can have a future, only if more and more youth take up agriculture,” said Hon. Reddy.

“At the moment, we have a young farming demographic that makes up 42.7 per cent of the total number of farmers in Fiji, I repeat, out of more than the 83,000 farmers captured in the latest Agriculture Census, 42.7 per cent are youth. Of these, 87 per cent are male and 13 per cent are female. 35,000 out of the 83,000 farmers in Fiji are below the age of 40,” he elaborated.

Minister Reddy said the Ministry would continue to support the active participation of youth in agriculture as they would become the next generation of farmers to be at the forefront of the sector’s development.

“We are thankful to the existing cohort of farmers that have contributed enormously to Fiji’s agriculture growth and development, they have worked long years to get us to where we are today but I want to ask our parents to encourage their children to come forward and engage in full-time agriculture as a business.

“We want our youths to see that they can also become a businessman/businesswoman or an entrepreneur in the agriculture sector. There is a lot of potential in the agriculture sector as our export markets expand and there is more demand for our produce. In the current agriculture growth equation, we still need to get more youth to take up agriculture as a business,” said Minister Reddy.

For young farmer, Ratu Peni Tanoaono of Qereqere Village who was a recipient of the irrigation kit equipment, Minister Reddy’s call to action for more youth participation should be a wake-up call to idle youth in the country.

“I am glad to note that we, the youth are being kept in mind by Government, and the challenge laid down by the Minister today for youth to actively engage and commit themselves to productive activities like agriculture is a good call because a lot of the times, youth tend to only be interested in activities that are not worth the time and we’re driven a lot by peer pressure, we’re just comfortable with the way our lives are now instead of looking at the bigger picture,” said Mr Tanoaono.

“I am also grateful to have been chosen to be a recipient of this programme and to receive this irrigation kit because, during the drought and prolonged periods of dry weather, my production levels are affected but now through this irrigation kit I have received from the Ministry, I can be at peace knowing I don’t have to worry about adequate water supply to my farm.

“I also want to challenge all youths who are idle in the urban areas and even in the rural areas, take a crack at farming because you will be surprised what you can earn from farming, there is wealth in the land, all you need to do is use it,” said Mr. Tanoaono. 

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