THE impact of the dry season continues to affect some farmers in Labasa.
For 55-year-old Deo Raj, the recent dry season in the area has claimed his livestock.
The Naleba farmer said the impact of the dry season on his goat and sugarcane farming was immense.
“Before this, I had 70 goats, but after the dry season, only 40 survived. “Most of them were young goats and died because there was no grass and milk for them,” Mr Raj said.
“So I started to do sheep farming. At the moment, I have 15 sheep.
“The dry season was very bad this side mostly affecting the cattle.
“I suffered a loss worth nearly $3000.”
He said after the dry season, there was a flood in the area last month which also caused damage to his one acre cane farm.
“I was still recovering from the dry weather and then the flooding happened.
“Looking at the weather now, looks like another dry season is heading our way,” he said.
“I am currently using water from the borehole on my land to fetch water to my cane fields.
“It is very hard to get constant water to the farms here.”
Mr Raj added because of the weather, farming was getting really difficult not just for him, but also for other farmers in the Northern Division.
