OF the 16,000 registered canegrowers in the country, about 12,000 are actively engaged in sugarcane farming.
And the average age of growers is more than 60 years.
This was highlighted to this newspaper when a team visited Rakiraki, Tavua and Vatukoula.
Many of the aged farmers said the future of their plantations looked bleak because their children and grandchildren had no interest in the hard work associated with cane growing.
However, Fiji Cane Growers Association general secretary Bala Dass believes young men and women could be enticed with attractive incentives.
He said providing internet access, electricity and piped water to cane farming areas would stem the rural-urban drift to some degree.
“If we give rural youth the same things that are available to their peers in urban centres then we might be able to address some of the cane production and labour issues that are having a serious impact on the industry,” he said.
“We are not blaming this government for the lack of services to rural areas because the situation we are in is a direct result of inaction by previous governments as well.
“We are all aware of the unemployment issue in the country and we are also aware that young people who are children of farmers not only move to cities and towns for bright lights and entertainment, they also want access to the things that urban children have.
“So one way to address this issue is to provide these services to rural areas.”
Cane growers across the Western Division have highlighted the urgent need to address labour shortage problems and the high cost of enticing people to cut their cane.
Over the past few years, a trend has emerged where labourers demand goodwill payments of up to $200 and farmers who previously paid about $15 per tonne for harvesting now had to fork out upwards of $20 per tonne.
Fiji Sugar Corporation executive chairman Abdul Khan said industry stakeholders were using geographic information system technology to identify areas that did not have electricity and basic services.
He said the information gleaned through the use of the revolutionary technology would be used to advise the relevant government ministries about the need for water and electricity in rural areas.
“This is a more targeted approach to ensure that the people who are most in need receive assistance,” he said.
