AGED sugarcane farmers were urged to make informed decisions before allotting land to their children.
Minister for Lands Ashneel Sudhakar called on farmers to pass on their property to children who would take care of farmland and continue cane production.
“What we have encountered in my two months as Minister for Lands are cases where a particular farmer has three or four children and with good intention, he divides land informally and doles out acreage to all his children — even those residing overseas,” he said.
“And what happens is that only one is planting cane and the others have let the land become overgrown.
“We, by law, respect the wishes of the deceased but what is happening on the ground is not what we hoped for.
“The fact is that the company (Fiji Sugar Corporation) recognises only one contract and the (Lands) ministry recognises only one lease but there are four or five different shares.”
Mr Sudhakar warned that if land designated for cane farming was not producing cane, there were ramifications.
“If farmers are not cultivating properly then the option we have is to take the lease back and give it to a productive farmer.
“But we also have a problem where one farmer has 10 children, the lease says you can only have one house on the land but there are 10 houses and no land leftover to plant cane.
“So what I suggest to the farmers, it’s your land and your property — you can distribute and do whatever you want but do it in an economical way.
“If you have one child staying with you and looking after the farm, he is probably the best person to farm it.”
