The Sugar industry will stay in the decades ahead, said Minister for Sugar, Charan Jeath Singh while speaking at the inaugural Sugar Industry Workshop in Lautoka yesterday.
He said the industry faces many challenges going forward which the Coalition Government is keen to tackle.
“We are here to chart the course of the sugar industry and importantly work with each other and with each other make the industry better,” he said.
“Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka had on a very serious note had dedicated Ministry of Sugar as a stand-alone ministry that gave the signal that he wanted to see the sugar industry at its peak.
“There has been a lot of ifs and buts about this – we are not here to just to run the sugar industry, but to sort out the industry for the betterment of this country.
“Your participation here today reflects to the shared commitment to the future of Fiji’s sugar industry, a sector that is the heart and soul of this nation.”
Mr Singh said land lease issues, an aging farming population, outdated infrastructure, impacts of climate change and sugar politics had reshaped the sugar landscape drastically.
“However, within adversity lies opportunity. This gathering symbolises our collective determination to confront these challenges head-on.”
“Our mission is clear—to develop a strategic blueprint rooted in pragmatism rather than extravagance.”
