Opposition member of Parliament Vijay Nath has raised concerns over the large amount of idle land in Fiji, saying greater use of available land for agriculture could help reduce poverty and boost the country’s economy.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Mr Nath said Fiji’s land ownership structure was unique, with the majority of land belonging to the iTaukei.
“Approximately 90 per cent of land in Fiji is iTaukei land, about seven per cent is freehold and only four per cent is State land,” he said.
Mr Nath said despite Fiji having about 18,270 square miles of land, only a small portion was currently being used for agricultural purposes.
“Only 17 per cent of the land is currently used for agriculture. This is according to the 2020 census.”
He also noted that there were about 83,000 registered farmers in the country, but many areas of land remained unused.
He said he had personally observed large areas of idle land while travelling and hiking around the country.
“I love hiking, and while hiking, I have seen a number of lands unutilised, whether you’ll find the rain trees there, African tulips there, and these lands are not utilised.”
Mr Nath cited areas along the route from Nadi to Suva, particularly near Sigatoka, where land suitable for farming remained covered with bush.
“What I’m trying to explain here is that this valued land belongs to you, it belongs to the iTaukei people, that’s your land.
“These lands are just sitting idle.”
He added if idle iTaukei land was utilised for productive purposes, it would help lower poverty level in the country.
“Definitely, when you start utilising the land, then the poverty level will definitely go down.”
