LAND degradation is slowly becoming a major problem.
Ministry of Agriculture land resource planning development director Nacanieli Waka said a small increase in population could be expected to dramatically expand localised land degradation.
“The almost complete degradation of first-class arable lands affirms that the current expansion of agriculture and other forms of land uses into marginal hilly to steep lands will continue to increase,” Mr Waka said.
Steep land agricultural practices, such as steep land sugarcane and ginger production are not sustainable.
“They increase natural erosion rates,” he said.
Mr Waka then added that natural erosion rates were high and responsible for the vast land areas going out of production.
“These results are both onsite and offsite effect where the loss of valuable topsoil and sedimentation of rivers and streams is critical.
“Government is spending millions of dollars in the de-silting of some major rivers because of unnecessary erosions caused by unsustainable uses of land resources,” Mr Waka said.