The Fijian economy has suffered during this COVID-19 pandemic because it had put all its eggs in one basket by solely relying on the tourism industry, says Roko Tui Bau Ratu Timothy Daniel.
He highlighted this issue during a virtual conference on the impact of the pandemic on people this week.
“I think we should have focused also on agriculture, fisheries and forest,” Ratu Timothy said.
“If we had done that 10 to 20 years ago, we would not probably be in the position we are in now.”
Speaking in his role as a traditional leader, he urged iTaukei to use land and marine resources to sustain themselves during this pandemic.
“One positive feature about this pandemic is that people have started going back to the land and sea.
“Land that used to be idle along between Lami and Naboro are now being used for farming for crops such as cassava and dalo.
“We are living in abnormal times and we need to adopt abnormal ways of surviving in such a time as this. People can sustain themselves during this pandemic if they go back to the land and sea.”
