SOME growers are considering abandoning the sugar cane farming entirely over the next five years.
A study by the Fiji National University, supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research on the future of Fiji’s sugar industry released last month stated a small portion of sugar cane growers do not see any future in the industry.
“While the number of active sugarcane growers fell from over 21,000 to around 12, 000 in the period 1995 to 2020, it appears the number of farmers exiting the industry has somewhat stabilised, compared to the period where land leases commenced to expire,” the study said.
“A minority of farmers sampled in this study (4 per cent) are considering abandoning the industry in the next five years.
“However, an additional 17 per cent of farmers are unsure about their future in the industry, which shows that the industry is still facing challenges to provide a reliable source of income that would motivate farmers to remain engaged.”
The study added global projections indicated that the number of farms could decrease from 616 million in 2020 to 272 million in 2100 with the average farm size doubling.
“This declining trend in the number of smallholder farms have implications for the sustainability and resilience of food systems. Other studies have also reported that leaving sugarcane farming in the short term may not be economically feasible due to contractual obligations associated with land leases
“The majority of farmers remaining in the industry are planning to continue managing their farms without any plans to either expand or contract their growing areas. This underscores the need to support farmers to sustainably intensify production in existing areas so that productivity and profitability can increase without further degrading soil resources, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and affecting ecosystems services.”
