A total of 5000 sugarcane farmers who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will be assisted by the Rarawai Penang Cane Producers Association (RPCPA).
The non-profit organisation, which works under Fair Trade International, will run the assistance program between Ba and Rakiraki.
It will start with the distribution of sets each containing a cane knife, file and gloves.
The project was launched on Friday at midday and was made possible by the premium funds of sugar sales provided by Tate & Lyle and Kitkat Nestle of the United Kingdom.
The program was led by president Jinend Singh and will run in the three districts for at least two weeks.
The distribution in Tavua district will commence when the COVID-19 threat level is downgraded.
“RPCPA want to help our struggling farmers during this pandemic period and this is one way in which our board has decided to support them pre-harvest,” said Mr Singh.
Executive manager Navneet Chand said in the past eight years, the RPCPA had invested over $9 million in assistance towards sugarcane farmers benefits through the premium funds from Fair Trade.
“Following this project RPCPA will look to team up with other interested organisations to provide further technical assistance and training to farmers in the Western cane belt areas.”
