With the dry conditions forecast for the coming months, sugarcane farmers have been urged not to burn cane or trash.
The caution from the Fiji Meteorological Services follows its forecast for below normal rainfall activity for the sugarcane farming areas in both Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.
“Advisory is to prioritise harvest of green cane in areas not easily accessible and send to the mill,” it said in a weather outlook released last week.
“Farmers should retain trash to conserve moisture.
“Trash will also help to reduce growth of weeds. Minimum tillage should be adopted to prevent loss of any remaining moisture.
“Please do not burn cane for harvesting and trash after harvesting has completed.
“Consult your sector farm advisers regarding soil sampling in any plots, varieties to plant, availability of clean seedcane to be used during the replanting window and availability of government funds for Cane Planting grant as per 2022/2023 budget allocation.”
Fiji Met said farmers who wished to plant cane needed to plan their work in order to get good germination.
