NO government assistance will be given to any farmer who continues to plant fresh or replanted unapproved cane varieties or a mixture of varieties from August 1, 2026, says the Sugar Ministry.

Sugar Ministry permanent secretary Yogesh Karan stated as per regulation 2.4 of the Master Award, farmers are not allowed to grow any cane that is not approved by the Sugar Research Institute of Fiji (SRIF).

The Master Award also gives powers to Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) to reject any cane variety delivered by farmers that is not permitted on his or her farm.

“To ensure that the requirements of the Master Award are strictly adhered to, the ministry has considered withdrawing all grants and subsidies from farmers growing and supplying unapproved varieties to the mills,” Mr Karan said.

“However, considering financial hardships and loan commitments of the farmers, the ministry is allowing time – until July 31, 2026 – for the farmers to remove all unapproved varieties from their farms to access government grants and subsidies.”

Mr Karan said these farmers also won’t receive subsidised fertilisers, weedicides, production incentives, new farmer and lease renewals, small grants and manual harvest incentives.

He said farmers who plan to remove unapproved and plant approved cane varieties would be assisted with cane planting grants on a first-come-first-serve basis.

“Due to limited grants, all farmers requiring cane planting grants must immediately register their interests with their sector offices by April 30, 2024.

“All seed cane must be certified by SRIF, and farmers are required to contact their sector officers to obtain seed cane certification before planting new cane.

“No grants will be given to farmers who fail to obtain seed cane certification before planting.

“The FSC, SRIF and Sugar Cane Growers Council will ensure that approved seed cane is available in each locality to be accessed by farmers on a timely basis.”