AT Coboilevu, Ra, large parcels of land that were once under cane are now covered by overgrown bushes and trees.
And according to 55-year-old Log Nadan, he is the only remaining sugarcane farmer in the Vititi gang which he is a member of.
He owns a 21-acre farm, eight of which is used for sugar cane.
“I have no choice but to sell my animals now because I don’t make any money from sugar cane,” he said.
“The most expenses that I pay are on labour costs, bank loans and land lease payments.
“Ten years ago, the sugar cane farmer would get people coming to their farms asking for work, but now we have to go to the labourers and ask for their services and they demand that we pay them $20 per tonne or more.
“The rest of the farmers in my gang have either left or moved to other types of farming.”
He said apart from livestock, he also sold cash crops which earned him more than what was derived from sugarcane farming.
“People are moving on to cassava farming because they get money there.
“I pay $800 annually now for my land lease that was recently renewed. I used to pay $107 before.
“I had to reduce my cane planting this year because of the cost of the lorry and the cost of labour.
“In 2015, I was producing more than 100 tonnes from my 10 acres of sugar cane farm, I made a profit of more than $2000. In 2016, I was able to produce only 70 tonnes from six acres of sugar cane, I did not make any profit last year.
“I won’t be making any money this year because of the cost of labourers and the cost of transporting cane to Penang Mill. A labourer will ask for $20 per tonne and we are charged $17 per tonne for a lorry.
“I received my fourth cane payment last Friday of $10.57 per tonne. That was the only time I was able to keep some money without any deductions.”
